Her
by Jackrabbit2011
Summary: Who is the girl? Donna doesn't know, and he won't tell her; he doesn't have to- she can see it so clearly on his face.The importance, the pain... he can't hide any of it from her, not now, not now she can hear everything he thinks...
1. Paradoxial Phenomenoms

"Doctor

A/N:** As far as I know, a paradoxical phenomenon is something I have created, but you never know… **

**Overall Disclaimer: The BBC and those **_**Doctor Who**_** writers (if you really want me to prattle off the names I will, just not today) guys own it, not me. **

**This is set in series four- no particular place, just before the last three episodes. Think of it as an unrecorded side-trip, maybe. **

**CHAPTER ONE- Phenomenon **

"Doctor?" Donna's voice brought no reaction from the Doctor; no flash of recognition, nothing. He seemed utterly oblivious to her presence. His eyes remained fixed on the quietly-humming screen in front of him, his face painted a pale blue by the light emitted by the monitor.

"Doctor, stop it. It's not funny anymore, so snap out of it right now!" Her demand was lost as the fear made he voice waver, losing all of its strength, and she couldn't stop herself from yelling the next words; "Doctor, please!"

Abruptly, he looked up, the look of shock and disbelief that had just so recently been so clear on his face vanishing in a instant, to be replaced by his usual cheeky half-smile. It faded slightly as he took in Donna's terrified expression.

"Hey," he said quietly, his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm the tremors shaking her whole body. "It's okay, it's alright Donna…I'm sorry I scared you…" He murmured as Donna wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes. Gradually, the shudders ceased and he let go, moving to the other side of the TARDIS console and flicking several switches.

"Doctor, what happened back then, before?" She said quietly, refusing to stop as she saw him wince every-so-slightly. "You zoned out completely, I was so scared"-

"Donna, it's nothing, alright?" He interrupted softly, cutting her off immediately. "Just leave it."

She was about to continue, when she caught the look on the Doctor's face- even though he was turned slightly away, she caught the flash of pain in his eyes as he said the words. She sighed. "Fine, just a man thing right? Some sort of weird Martian space-man thing… anyway, warn me before-hand when you next decide to turn into one of those zombies we saw last week when you took me to that planet- what was it Pythin? Zygan?"-

"That would be Sygonith."

"Whatever. And by the way, I got completely lost this morning, you know- if I didn't know better, I'd say you deliberately put me in the that room, which seems furthest away from the TARDIS console and the route is so hard to remember, I'm los two steps out the door."

The Doctor coughed uneasily. "No, how could you ever think such a thing?"

"Easily. But you do have to at least admit that the route isn't exactly easy to remember. It gets me confused just thinking about possibly trying to recall it."

"What's so hard about it?" The Doctor retorted indignantly. " You go through that door, down the corridor; turn left, over the bridge, past three doors on your right and then turn left again at the split, through the room marked BOILER; two rights, then under the staircase, another left turn and just past the room that makes the bizarre clangs and occasional hisses and… there you are. Your room."

"Doctor? You. Are. _Bonkers_."

"I know."

"So how comes you never get lost, eh?" Donna snapped, annoyed by his agreement.

"Given that I've lived in it for more than eight hundred years- and the fact that I'm oh-so clever"-

"You wish." Donna smirked, forgetting the moment that had terrified her only minutes ago completely from her mind. The Doctor mock-glared at her before continuing.

"Anyway, yeah, it gets pretty hard to get lost in the place you grew up in. Besides, all-in-all, it's not actually that big- it's tiny really- it's only got just over four hundred rooms in it- if you leave out the airing cupboards. And the boiler room. And- oh, never mind."

She and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Whatever' and sat down on the faded yellow seats that were oozing streams of off-white fluff and propped her feet on the control panel, knowing it would annoy him. After several death-glares from the Doctor, she smiled sweetly - with much feigned over-dramatic eye-rollage- placed her feet on the floor, making sure a huff of indignation accompanied it.

Without warning, a tremor racked through the TARDIS, making its entire frame shake.

"Doctor!" Donna cried as she was flung roughly backwards, colliding with the lights that covered the interior. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't me, I didn't do anything!" He shouted, battling with the controls. "The chronic reactors are shut down- I can't control where we're going!"

"What are you talking about? Where are we going?" She cried, struggling to hold on as another shudder rippled through the machine. "Doctor"-

The rest of her sentence was interrupted, as with a bang, an almighty crash and a noise that sounded suspiciously like a strangled duck picking a fight with a cat with a cough, the TARDIS stopped, allowing the sprawled figures to pick themselves up from where they'd been thrown.

"Neck-head-arms-legs-nose; I'm fine," the Doctor groaned softly as he pulled himself up, silently calculating his injuries; some bruises the size of brazil and several cuts- nothing a little Lutonic solution couldn't heal in a jiffy. Jiffy? He thought, raising an internal eyebrow at himself. _Hopefully_ he'd never have to use that word again. "Donna?"

"Dandy." Donna replied, flicking dust of her jacket. "Could've lived without it though- maybe next we'll leave the tossing around to pillows and stuff that _don't_ have nerve-endings?"

"Hey, be nice, pillows have feelings too." The Doctor scolded, whilst examining the damage. Donna shook her head at his apparent lack of sanity.

"Just tell me why we just got chucked around like dice, please!"

"It seems we crossed into the remains of a paradoxical phenomenon-ooh, try saying that five times fast-"

"Doctor!"

-"Right sorry. Anyway, it's a vast collection of concentrated energies from different worlds mix together in a big floopy"-

"_Floopy?" _

-"Yes, floopy. Look it up, it's a technical term- into a big floopy mess of pulsing radiation that, well, actually can't be used for anything, seen as planets make their own energy. So it just sits there"- the Doctor stopped when he noticed the bored expressions on his fellow's face. "Fine," he said huffily. "If you don't care to know, I won't tell you."

"Oh, I care really," Donna said, though her half-suppressed grin made her lies obvious. "It's just; we can't all be great time-people like you who know absolutely everything…"

"You know, I shouldn't enjoy that because it was _so fake_," The Doctor said, whilst he studied the monitor. He smiled fleetingly at her innocent look. "But I still do."

"More to the point, Doctor," Donna said, a hint of impatience colouring her tone. "When are you going to tell us what happened?"

"Patience, earth-girl. And where was I? Oh, that's right; we've crossed paths with a paradoxical phenomenon- we're lucky, actually, because it's very, very old, and we only passed through the outskirts- four of five klicks to the left and we'd have been sucked into the centre and scattered into energised atoms by the heat- it's hotter than the sun in the heart of it."

"Nasty." Donna concluded.

"Just a tad," the Doctor agreed. "Anyway, fortunately, we didn't, which is quite good because if you died, Donna, you're mother would probably eat me."

"_Oh, so funny_."

"And you think I'm kidding."

Donna couldn't stop a smile from spreading over her face. "Doctor, stop it- she'll have both of us if you keep on talking- I don't care if we are skirting around a paradoxical whatsit, hundreds of miles away from Earth- she'd find a way."

The Doctor snorted and carried on. "Right, we are… here." He pointed at the tiny red dot of the screen, surrounded by eerie green-blue mist. "The scattered dust of the phenomenon is this green stuff, and right there, in the top-hand corner is- oh." He broke of, puzzled. "That shouldn't be there; it's a Trigometric space shuttle."

"And a Trigometric space shuttle is?..." Donna asked.

" A congregation of smaller planetarian-based research-pods, all from different planets and fused onto a larger metal structure to form, basically, a giant, inter-spaced laboratory, with scientists from- I'm guessing here- around thirty individual planets combining their knowledge together. Amazing." The Doctor frowned. "Judging from the shuttle design- the fact that it a Trigometric model- I'd say we're in the galaxy of Prominen- Prom fro short-; the year, though is more difficult…"

"That's all well and good, but what made the TARDIS bring us here?" Donna asked.

"There are indeed thousands of such ships dotted throughout this galaxy, but this one is way too far from home, which means it's out of range. Out of protection. It's in considerable danger, especially being this close to a phenomenon of this proportion."

"You know, what Doctor?" Donna sighed heavily, massaging her temples. "I struggle to understand half the stuff that comes out of your mouth."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He answered, striding towards the door. "Want a look?" He asked her. She wass still standing by the consol. He leant against the wall next to the door and pushed it open slightly, exposing the tantalising image hidden behind it.

A/N: **There you go, the first chapter. Nothing much as occurred, but hopefully something will… …oh, and I'm sorry, but I'm going on holiday for an estimated two weeks tomorrow, so you'll have to patient out there people!**

**Review- if you really want to. I won't stop you. **


	2. Music

Donna stopped when she was level with the Doctor, unsure whether to continue

**right... am very sorry for such a long wait people! Computer deleted my internet connection (stupid thing) so I'm actually updating whilst on holiday. Oh, and I made some slight- but not overly dramatic changes to the first chapter... **

_**He leant against the wall next to the door and pushed it open slightly, exposing the tantalising image hidden behind it. **_

**CHAPTER TWO- Music**

Donna stopped when she was level with the Doctor, unsure whether to continue. "Go on," He whispered, smiling. "No humans have ever seen _this_, I can assure you." She returned his smiled and opened the door.

Light flooded the TARDIS, staining her skin a kaleidoscope of green, blue, yellow and white as she stood, transfixed. Dust and rock was scattered, miles in every direction, the centre of it all a huge, softly glowing sphere of pulsing, boiling rock.

"Oh." She gasped, making man beside smile at the typical human remark. Donna could feel the power and might emanating from the core of the phenomenon- even from here, protected by the TARDIS and perhaps several hundreds kilometres from even the inner circle- that was made up of mostly ash and dust particles- she could feel the intense heat of the molten rock. Faintly, though she thought she was imagining it, Donna could hear a barely perceptible note of music, which, of course, was ridiculous. She shook her head to clear it and laughed quietly to herself.

"Donna?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Nothing, just going quietly mad."

"Oh good, I was worried it something serious."

Now she could definantly hear music from somewhere, but it was like nothing she'd ever heard before; no voice, but something more than that, something she didn't have words for. If she focused on it, the sound faded away like water on a sponge, but the moment her attention was elsewhere, there it was; a background tune of ethereal beauty and quite obviously not of Earth.

"Doctor," Donna said slowly after he'd closed the door and returned to the controls. "What's that noise?"

The Doctor froze, and then crossed the metres between them swiftly, staring intently at her.

"What"- she began, as he put a hand on either side of her head, preventing her from moving.

"Donna," he said quietly, interrupting. "I need you to listen to me very carefully, and don't move."

Unnerved, Donna nodded, still motionless in the Doctor's hands.

"When did the music start?"

"How did you know it was"-

"Donna!" She jumped at the urgency in his voice, the flare of desperation that came into his eyes as he said her name. "Please, tell me!"

"I… I don't know," She stammered, hating herself for causing the light to fade from the Doctor's eyes at her words, to be replaced by the cold blankness of disappointment. "When I was looking outside. But, Doctor, what does it mean? Where did it come from? I mean, music can't just appear like that"-

"Donna," He said again, stepping back slightly to give her some space. Their eyes never strayed from each other's as he moved, though; Donna was frozen in his gaze. "I'm sorry, but I need confirmation. I wouldn't ask but this is important."

"What d'you mean, Doctor?" Donna asked again, feeling slightly annoyed at her own ignorance.

"I need to know what you heard, Donna, but the only way I can do that is if you let me into your mind. I know I shouldn't, but I'm sorry, it's vital that I know for certain what you just heard outside."

She was about to protest when she caught the desperate look on his face. Donna had never seen the Doctor look so… fraught; he was always so calm and collected, but now he seemed about to snap under some strain she could not understand.

"Of course, Doctor… if it'll help. But _only," _She snapped, as he moved forward again. "If you promise that you'll tell me what's going on afterwards."

"Yes, I promise, Donna. This won't hurt I swear." She felt his fingers rest lightly on either side of her temples; she inhaled quickly as a single shudder ran through her body and her vision momentarily blurred, clearing seconds later, showing the scene it had only minutes ago stored away in her memory.

There it was; the music, but magnified so that it failed to fade away when she focused on it. Even when she could hear it, Donna still couldn't discern any words from the mass of notes. It became tangible, a solid thing that seemed to swirl before her, twisting and melding to form something so beautiful it made her chest ache to hear it. Pain wracked through her body, made her cry out, her knees buckling. Donna faintly felt the floor as she slammed into it, distantly registered the Doctor's frantic voice calling her. The pain, so intense, so beautiful that it made tears well, falling down her cheeks as the music continued, swallowing her until she wasn't in the TARDIS, and her entire form vibrated with the sweet, heart-breaking melody that had so fleetingly been heard.

Everything else faded away, until only she and this wondrous harmony existed, intertwined forever, above time itself.

But then the music stopped, and her heart stopped with it. She screamed at the excruciating agony that swept through her, accompanied by the bitter stab of loss that made her cry out for it to stop.

Arms encircled her shoulders, and with the return of the Doctor's soothing voice, the unbearable ache radiating through her chest began to fade, until she couldn't feel it any more. Unsurely, she pulled away, unable to stop herself blushing slightly as she realised she'd been leaning her head on the Doctor's chest, with his arms wrapped around her and his head resting lightly on hers- it was a reflective gesture; she'd never been one on intimacy and finding herself in such a position was embarrassing.

"Donna? Are you alright?" The Doctor's voice brought her back to the present, and she looked up at him. "Can you stand up?"

"I'm fine, just give us hand." She said, wobbling slightly as she stood up. The Doctor still has his arm around her waist, propping her up, and it took her several seconds to realise.

"Doctor! _Hands!" _She yelled, shoving him away from her. He jumped slightly and put his arms in the air.

"What? I was only making sure you didn't fall over!" He cried, indignantly. "You could have Nytric concussion or be susceptible to Zenil disease, or that new one that came from that planet- what was it? Rylatrciacania"-

"I'll give you Nitric concussion." Donna snarled; the Doctor glared back. Simultaneously, they both exploded into laughter at the sight of each other's faces.

As Donna remembered that awful feeling of pain she'd felt just seconds before, the laughter died on her lips. "Doctor, what happened? You said it wouldn't hurt."

"I know," he said, now frowning in puzzlement. "That shouldn't have happened. Actually, if I'm right- which I normally am- then you've just done _two _things that are impossible. It goes against every law of physics."

"What, magnetism and things?"

"No," He scoffed. "Not that rubbish they teach you in those schools of yours- no, _real _physics. You know- well, obviously you don't- the laws of the planets and the Decree of the Shadow Proclamation; all that palaver. What just happened is completely, and utterly impossible."

"I don't know Doctor- I used to think you were impossible, but here you are."

"Yeah, but that completely different," He replied, shaking his head. Donna sighed heavily until he continued. "Donna, you're a human, so anything beyond microwave meals are apparently impossible to you lot- ooh, sorry, that was rude, wasn't it? Anyway, the point is; I'm a Timelord- inside my head are the secrets and the workings of the universe. Basically, there isn't much I don't understand."

Donna tried to control her miffed expression, as he looked at her, waiting for a response.

"So, you're saying, the person who understands everything doesn't have a clue, right?"

"Um, yes." He admitted, sitting down on the faded seat oozing fluff with a heavy sigh, putting his head in his hand wearily. Donna caught a flash of his face before his hair covered it; pain resonated through his features and through it, Donna saw somebody else sitting beside her, different from the quirky brown-haired man that was usually there. Instead she saw who he really was; the alien from another planet, which'd lived through something that had destroyed everything he'd ever known, and bore the scars to show it. He was old, and so very tired; a figure weighed by burdens he'd never wanted, and so utterly different from everything around him.

Ancient, homeless, ethereally beautiful… he didn't blend in with everything around him, because it wasn't his world- at first glance, he did, but you looked closer, and you knew; the Doctor wasn't human, he didn't fit in anywhere, anymore. His world was dust now, lost for so long, and nothing would bring it back.

So_ lonely… _

Images flashed through her mind; emblazoned into her mind, impossible to ignore.

Faces. People she didn't know- a man, a woman, two tiny children running… her face; Rose Tyler's, Martha's- Jenny's, flashing past faster than she could comprehend. Each accompanied by a different stab of emotion- happiness, but so much pain. Such bitter, agonising _loneliness. _Surrounded by so many faces, so many memories, but so desperately isolated from them; never on the same level; always alone, no matter how many people where around…

Laughter- so vibrant and innocent; the giggle of a child, accompanied by the face of a small, brown-eyed, smiling child. Breathtakingly beautiful, and so… familiar, yet she'd never seen her before- had she?

The cold, bitter humourless jeer spreading through her limbs; unbearable pain, fire licking her back…

Make it stop, please make it stop. But he couldn't tell them- anything but that. He couldn't, ever. Too many lives hung on his silence…the pain, doubling… not a cry, not a word, not now, not ever… mustn't, he couldn't-

Wait, _he_? Not her thoughts, someone else's-

Her eyes snapped open, another child's face- spiky hair so familiar, but on the wrong face, the wrog colour- burned onto her retinas like the after-image of the sun. She blinked, looking around, her eyes locking onto the Doctor's stunned face.

"Doctor?"

'Donna… did you just…" He trailed off, still shocked. His face was abnormally pale, and his hands were shaking; he was staring over her shoulder, seeming unnerved by whatever had happened.

And then everything snapped into place.

People she hadn't recognised; clad in robes she was certain had never existed in the fashions of humanity, the faces of the figures so lovely, so… celestial that they could no belong to this world.

The loneliness, the pain, the incessant weariness that only came with age; the weight of countless battles she'd never been part of, the pain she'd never felt, words she'd never spoken… all of it rushing through her mind. Foreign, because the thoughts, the memories, they weren't hers.

They were his.

"What did you see, Donna?" The Doctor whispered, sounding strangled. "Tell me!"

The urgency made her start slightly, and his eyes softened apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Donna," He said, slumping into the seat again. "This is… odd. I've never encountered anything like this before. For you, a human, to do that, to be capable of accessing my"- he broke off and looked away.

"Doctor," Donna began, moving forward until her nose was inches from his. "Did I just… _access_ y-your _thoughts_?"

The unnerved expression on the Doctor's face was enough confirmation.

"All those people"-

"Gallifrian. All dead," He answered shortly, but Donna could hear the sadness in his voice. "Every last one of them."

"Who where they, Doctor?"

"Friends," He said reluctantly. "Family, people I used to know, that's all."

She didn't want to ask, but her curiosity was dominant, and she couldn't resist. "The…child." It sounded like a statement, not a question to her ears, and for a moment, Donna thought he wouldn't answer.

"Her name was… Alina." It seemed to hurt him, saying the name, and Donna didn't press the issue, despite her mounting interest. The silence lengthened until, with a cherry, half-shouted, "Right!" and a sudden burst of energy, the Doctor leapt to his feet and bounded to the controls, leaving Donna unnerved by the sudden change of attitude.

"Okaaay," He murmured, pressing several buttons, hitting something with a pink hammer and blowing a small tune on a harmonica before the TARDIS gave any reaction; after a minute of a tinny but perfect version of 'pop goes the weasel' it lurched, throwing them onto the floor for the second time in several hours.

"Doctor, what did you do this time?" Donna's voice was muffled, as she was trying to speak whilst lying on her back.

"Nothing, everything's fine! Every sprocket and wocket and mergin nut is in total working order- hey, _this time?" _he said indignantly, leaning over the console to poke other buttons, all of which Donna had no idea what their use was. She began a retort when she heard it again.

Not as noticeable as last time, but definantly there; the ethereal music was again drowning everything else out. She turned to the Doctor, to ask him what it was- surely he could hear it too- but her question died on her lips at the expression on his face.

Stunned disbelief, with a small shine of hope; as if he was hearing the very sound he'd wanted to hear for his whole life, but was afraid to trust his own ears.

The thing he wanted most, but knew he'd never hear again…

_Not possible… he was on his own, nobody else left… _

His thoughts swam through her head again, the emotions on his face intensified with his mind. Flashes of burning, echoes of screams…

_Impossible to survive… _

Seeing rocks and earth, splinters of his planet, floating around him. On his own- the loss, the anger, the hurt-

"Doctor!" She cried, jerking away from his mind, snapping back to her own consciousness again with a jolt. "What is it?"

He swallowed convulsively, and looked up at her, his eyes blank with those same emotions; doubt, but the hopefulness breaking through it.

"It's a mind-wave, a subconscious mental call." He answered, shaking. Donna couldn't understand his reaction though; it was a mind-call, weird yes, but this important? Her thoughts must have shown on her face, because the Doctor added, his voice wavering ever-so-slightly; "It's a mental call from…" he swallowed again. "From a Timelord, Donna."

**A/N: ****Sorry, but of a long one there… anyway, anyone think they might possibly see where this is going? Tell if you have any ideas… **

**Oh, and picture the Doctor's face when Donna describes Rose to him at the end of Turn Left and you'll get his expression after he hears the mind-wave thing. **


	3. Callings

CHAPTER THREE- The Shal

"_**It's a mental call from…" he swallowed again. "From a Timelord, Donna."**_

**CHAPTER THREE- Calling**

"But, Doctor," Donna said as he turned and sprinted to the console monitor, frantically punching several buttons inn his frenzied haste. "That means"-

A small gasp slipped past her lips as his desperation swept over her, followed by unbelievable happiness. Half-formed thoughts battled to take her attention as his mental barriers slipped, allowing her to see everything her felt, everything he thought…

_It can't be real. _

_But you've heard it. It has to be… not imagination. _

_Donna heard it too. _

The internal battle raging in her head and the man in front of her, leaping around the machine crazily, his usual casualness gone. The noise was too much; she had to shut them up. _Get out of my head! _She couldn't stop herself from screaming; but she didn't utter a sound, it was all in her head.

The Doctor was still running round the console, loud clangs issuing from deep in the TARDIS; Donna's silent yells, his thoughts… all of it streaming through her mind, making it ache. She couldn't take it.

Blindly, she lashed out, catching the Doctor has he streaked past her. Surprise and pain wracked through her, his and hers, as they both tumbled over, propelled by each other… it broke through the incessant voices- so many now; where had they come from? Hers and the Doctor's, but so many others- yelling, crying, screaming, laughing…

"Make it stop." Donna didn't realise she'd cried out loud, but apparently she had; she felt a cool hand on her forehead, a soothing voice in her ear, making the others fade, stop, so it was just this voice. It was only vaguely humanoid, but could never have been described as human; better than that- the voice of an angel, its whispers spreading through her, easing the pain…

"Donna…"

The angel's voice again. But she recognised it this time; a man's, familiar…

"Doctor." She said, without realising she could speak. Her eyes opened of their own accord, meeting his dark brown ones. "Doctor," she said again, this time sitting up, still looking at him. "What's happening to me?" The concern and the worry she saw in his eyes only heightened her fear- fear she hadn't known she had.

"I'm sorry, Donna, I don't know," He said quietly; he must have seen the flare of terror on her face, as he put a hand on either side of her head, making her unable to move. "But listen to me Donna; I _won't_ let whatever's happening hurt you. I _won't_ lose you as well Donna, okay?" His words were determined, and she couldn't help but feel reassured at his tone; edge with steel and certain, no hint of doubt at all. He smiled resolutely, and she managed a weak one in response. Donna felt a rush of gratitude, as she realised he stopped the TARDIS to help her; he'd put _her_ before finding out if he was the last of his race, even though his desperation had been obviously immense.

She smiled gratefully at his back; the not-so-small gesture reminding her how incredible the space-man was. He was busy again; tapping the monitor, a frown creasing his forehead. She gingerly stood up, leaning on the TARDIS console for support, and padded over to the Doctor.

"I'm trying to trace the signal," He answered, before she could ask. "But it's tricky; it a complex channel. The sub-waves alone are utterly byzantine"…

Donna could all to easily remember just how complicated the melody that she'd heard had been; so dense, it was almost a solid thing, twisting and melding together, forever making new waves and tendrils…

"But what is a mind-channel, Doctor?" She asked, trying to reassemble her scattered thoughts. "I mean, is it just Timelords, or does everything have one?"

"It's exactly what it says on the tin- basically, your subconscious, given an almost substantial form- its your mind, given a body. And no, everything that has a living mind transmits such waves; the volume depending on the intelligence level of the creature."

"And you can use these… waves, to find people?"

"Yes. Well, almost all of them- most of the time, if you're clever enough"- he coughed slightly, and Donna's eyebrows rose at the unsubtle hint- "you can locate the emitter via their channels, yes.

"And you can only hear them if you belong to the same species- that why I couldn't hear the mental vibrations of a mouse, for example- but most creatures either have such a low frequency that it is inexplicable to anyone other than themselves- like humans- or, they are capable of, well, blocking the signal. Timelords can do that."

"But I heard the wave-whatsit too, and you said only Timelords would be able to hear it"-

"I know- it's very very weird. Unexplainable. I've never heard of a human hearing such vibrations…"He glanced up at her and frowned again. "Donna, I know this going to sound rather rude, and everything, but"-

"No, I'm pretty sure that I'm not an alien, Doctor." Donna said sarcastically.

"Are you absolutely sure, Donna? Could you look me in the eye and tell me there isn't the faintest possible way you could ever have had an inhuman relative, however distant? Could you know for certain?"

"Are you saying my great-great grandfather's aunt's cousin could have been a Timelord?" Donna asked, incredulity colouring her voice. She waited for him to laugh and tell her that it wasn't possible, but he didn't.

"Doesn't have to be a cousin. I don't know, it's the only possible way you could have heard that, unless…"

"Unless what?" she demanded. This wasn't real; she couldn't be in any way related to something like the Doctor- could she? He paled in hidden realisation.

"You couldn't have Timelord relatives, Donna- it really is impossible." He answered her unasked question quietly, still deep in thought. "Trust me, it is. So, the mental signal… can't be what we thought it was."

Donna felt a short, excruciating stab of pain wracked through her chest, gone before she'd even had time to register it. The loss and disappointment, all over again, so much worse when he had been this close...

But it faded quickly, and she said nothing to him, knowing that he knew she had felt too. She hated it, feeling the Doctor in pain like this- without thinking she strode over to the TARDIS monitor, and studied the readings scrolling across the screen almost too rapid for her to acknowledge them. She couldn't understand the readings, but the flashing words at the bottom of the screen-'resume tracking', in capitals- were a large help. She lightly tapped the screen over the words, and it responded with a small bleep. Without warning, the TARDIS lurched, Donna just keeping her balance by grasping the console tightly.

"Donna, what did you do?" The Doctor leapt to his feet, his recent lapse into despair forgotten as the ship gave another lurch, accompanied by the whirr of the energy column in the middle of it.

"You may have given up, Doctor," Donna yelled over the clanging. "But I haven't!"

"We're following the signal- Donna, there's no point; it can't be what we thought it was, otherwise you wouldn't have heard it."

"Yeah well, I've managed a lot of impossible things today, so why's this different? Besides, no harm in trying!" She laughed without knowing why.

The Doctor looked at her, obviously questioning his companions grip on reality; then his face broke into a grin. "Donna Noble- what would I do without, eh?" He said, laughing quietly.

The Doctor paused, his eyes closed and his hand on the door handle. Donna could understand his reluctance; whatever was on the other side of the TARDIS door could either be huge disappointment, or it could what he'd wanted for more than six hundred years. He could be left feeling more alone than ever, or he could never be the last of race ever again. His indecision swept over her again; his mental barrier seemed to be failing regularly, now she had breached it once- every so often she would get flashes of emotion, or see a memory she knew was not hers. Donna pushed it away, annoyed.

"You can do it, Doctor," Donna said softly. "Isn't knowing better than spending the rest of your existence wondering what could have happened?"

"I already know this isn't going to be what you think it is, Donna." He answered, equally quiet. "There's no point wishing for something that is impossible."

"Then you can't be disappointed, if you already think that." She retorted, tempted to snap at his pessimism, but seeing the internal struggle it was costing him to even get this far, she swallowed back the words she knew would only hurt him. "You can't walk away fro something like this, Doctor. You know that." He didn't answer, only inhaled sharply and pushed the door open; exposing what was concealed behind it.


	4. Prisoners

Donna stopped when she was level with the Doctor, unsure whether to continue

**A/N: ****Ah, chapter four- the chapter I was never supposed to get to- it's 'Broken' all over again… enjoy anyway! To all those who reviewed. **

_**He didn't answer, only inhaled sharply and pushed the door open; exposing what was concealed behind it. **_

**CHAPTER FOUR-Prisoners**

It was, Donna decided, very different from what she had expected.

The two of them- and the TARDIS, of course- where in a long, white corridor that was unadorned with anything; no paintings or mirrors, just endless, infinite white. There was a slight bleach smell in the air; it was difficult to categorize- kind of medical crossed with something a bit like dog food- and it burned Donna's nose when she inhaled. "Where are we, Doctor?"

"From the smell, and this"- he waved his arms at the immaculate corridor- "I'd say…not a hospital, a"-

"Vets?"

"Bingo! That'd explain the dog food smell- unless, of course, we're on the planet Canina ELeven-"

"I'm not even going to ask," Donna said quickly, before he could launch into another of his monologues.

"Oh, and I was gonna tell you all about it-" He stopped as a white-clad figure turned the corner ahead of them, and after a slight pause, began walking briskly towards them. "Oh, hello. This is Donna and I'm the Doctor"-

"A doctor?" Came the response, muffled slightly because of the white veil pulled over the stranger's face. "I'm sorry; you are in the wrong sector- floors 11-16 are the doctor's area."

"What are the other sectors for then?" Donna asked, bemused.

"Animal practises, research." The veiled figure paused, and then lifted the white curtain covering their face.

Donna couldn't help but gasp- the Doctor shot her an annoyed look- at the figures face.

"You're… a cat." Donna managed. The cat's eyes narrowed at her words and a low hiss escaped from its lips.

"No, I am most certainly not a cat-" The non-cat spat the word out as if it was something disgusting. "- cats are a petty and vulgar and you dishonour me with such words."

"I think I upset it." Donna whispered. The non-cat bristled at her words, and the Doctor flinched. He turned to the glaring figure.

"I must apologise for my assistant's-" He ignored her indignant snort. -"utter lack of respect; she is a new colleague, and is still learning. She is considerably ignorant in the lives of the Shal. It will not happen again." He smiled faintly, and the cat's snarl softened into something that almost looked like a returned smile. "As long as that is perfectly clear…" "Oh, I assure you, it is." He admonished quickly. "And, if it is not too troubling, could you kindly direct us to the main reception? I must admit I'm rather lost. Misplaced my map, you see."

The 'Shal' nodded and turned sharply, walking back the way it had come. The Doctor flashed her a quick, nervous grin and began to follow the receding cat-person's tail.

"Leave without me, why don't you," She muttered under her breath, raising her voice slightly to add, "So I'll just follow you shall I, Doctor?"

"That'd help, Donna!" Came his reply, as the end of his blue jacket flicked around the corner ahead.

"So, what's your name then?" Donna asked, as they turned into yet another white corridor- she was beginning to think that's all this place was. When the Shal looked at her oddly, she added, "You know, got a nickname? How 'bout Whiskers? No? Fluffy it is then."

"Donna." The Doctor warned, three paces in front, his stride indicating he could be six ahead if not for her and Paws slowing him down. The Shal hissed softly behind her.

Now that Donna was paying attention, the cat's- she couldn't help but still think of them that way- voice sounded vaguely feminine, so she guessed that was it was. Which was why she was surprised when the Shal decided to tell her its name.

"Your name is Albert." She said slowly, trying very hard not to laugh.

"Albert." The Shal repeated snootily, daring her to insult his name.

Albert the Giant Non-Cat. So much for Donna's female theory.

"'S'pose it beats Socks." Donna managed, looking at the Shal's white hands- his feet were covered in some thin, pale material shaped like a canvas plimsoll- meaningfully. The Doctor was trying hard not to smile, but his lips kept lifting before he realised; he managed to smooth his expression into one of stern disapproval by the time Albert had turned back to face him.

"Now Donna, leave Albert alone." He said, all serious now. "She's been very nice to us, agreeing to take us all the way back to our sector."

"Um, Doctor- _she?" _Donna said, trying to be discreet about it and not hurt the Shal's feelings any more than she had already. Instead of the embarrassment realisation she'd expected to see on his face, Donna only saw him nodded patronizingly, as if she'd turned around and told him the sky was blue. Which, actually, she didn't know if it was anymore, being on a different planet and all.

"Yeess," He said, still nodding at her. Annoyed, she smacked him lightly on the shoulder. He leapt backwards with a yelp. "Ow," he moaned pitifully, rubbing his arm. "That hurt. You don't know your own strength Donna Noble- actually, you do. That'll bruise for sure!"

"Oh, don't a wuss," Donna rolled her eyes at his over-dramatic show. "Come on; Cat Girl-Boy, whatever- is leaving without us." She added, tugging on the Doctor's arm.

"Hey, watch my bruise!" He yelped again as she dragged along after her, following the twitching ginger tail along another corridor.

"You know, Doctor," Donna scowled, flinching as metal dug into her wrists every time she moved. "I think this is one time too far."

"Yeah- you scuppered us up good and proper, Noble." He said, making a face as dirty water dripped into his hair. "I'll have to wash my hair again when we get back…" he muttered as an after-thought, glaring gloomily at the dirty strands flopping into his eyes. Vague words drifted to her; "…only did it this morning"… "…no shampoo left…"

Donna would've retorted, but she was too preoccupied with the large beetle of some description crawling the wall next to her- the Doctor had found her fear of everything six-legged irrational and down-right hilarious whenever she seized up at the sight of a wood louse. Now, however, he was as quiet she was, obviously not liking the handful of bizarre, hand-sized insectile things any more than she did.

Albert the Cat, who had seemingly been leading them to wherever 'doctors' went, had actually opened apparently a random door, and shoved them, locking the door with a dead-bolt and had scurried off. Minutes later, the furry traitor had returned, several armed buffoons following (Donna remembered the Doctor sighing heavily when he'd seen the guns). They been chained by their wrists to a wall covered in several different types of sticky mush that Donna tried to only think of as her mother's disastrous cooking- though actually, that might've been worse than whatever it really was.

"… and the hair dryer upsets my screwdriver." He was still muttering miserably.

Donna took her attention of the crawlie on the wall to stare at him. "Did you just say, 'hair dryer'?" She said, a stunned grin breaking through her mood. He stared back defensively.

"What? I get little blond bits in it if I blow-dry it- oi, stop looking at me like that!" He said indignantly at Donna's knowing smirk.

"And I was wondering what your relationship was with Jack…" She tutted and turned away, laughing silently at his offended/ embarrassed expression, like he was discovering his best friend knew he had a teddy and had been teasing him for days about it.

"Don't even go there, Noble. Remember what I said about cocky women?"

"You love it really." She said, but was interrupted from adding to it by the creak of the door opening.

"The Doctor, I presume," A silky voice oozed through the doorway, a rat-faced man following it. He was medium height- slight taller than Donna- and wearing a fitted white suit that matched his teeth. "And you're…"

"Donna." She answered, before the doctor could respond. Her eyes were narrowed at the man- she already didn't like him.

"Ah, the Doctor and his Donna, then." The man repeated, pleased. She heard the Doctor smother a laugh with a poor cough next to her, and she turned to glare at him.

"I'm not anybody's, Mister…" She snapped at the man, who had moved to stand close to them, allowing two hooded figures to enter the room after him. Through their hood, the very tips some sharp curved blade- a knife? - protruded from the shadows, steel-coloured and probably just as strong. Donna shivered, and the man noticed.

"Is the heating inadequate, Miss Donna?" He asked pleasantly, a hint of something else under-toning his voice. She felt the Doctor stiffen next to her, and she tensed. "Or are you just admiring my guards?"

"We are no threat to you," The Doctor said quietly, the two figure's head snapping around to focus on him instead. He ignored them, and they remained silent. "We were merely passing through"-

"If you be so kind," The man interrupted, holding out a hand to the figure nearest to him, it wordlessly handed him whatever it had been holding, its hands still shrouded in the folds of black material. The short exchange gave Donna time to glance at the Doctor. He nodded, smiling slightly; making her feel instantly reassured. "As to tell me what this was doing in your possession, Doctor?" He held up the sonic screwdriver, and Donna groaned inwardly; if this over-theatrical chap had the screwdriver, there was no way they'd be able to get out of the shackles binding them to the wall. They were stuck.

"Do you know what it is, Doctor?" The man pressed on without waiting for an answer. The Doctor didn't say anything, and the man sighed.

"There were other things in his pockets, Sir," A girl who, as far as Donna could tell, was human and in her late teens stepped out from behind the furthest cloaked figure. She was normal-looking, black hair, pale skin, but then she opened her eyes, and Donna felt a surge of fear, coupled with horror; the irises were a deep blood red that grew darker; fading into the blackness of her cat's eye pupils. "Lots of interesting things." She giggled quietly, but to Donna she could have been shrieking like a banshee- she felt the same terrified horror as before.

"Show me, … ." The man answered, without taking his eyes from the Doctor's face. "Show me what he had in his pockets."

After being bound to a wall in what was officially called 'UGH'; she and the Doctor had been searched; anything of hers that could've been a potential weapon had been confiscated- one look in the Doctor's pockets (and after one idiot had almost submerged his whole arm in it) they'd taken his whole coat and blue jacket with them, leaving him in his white shirt, that ironically matched Mystery Man's suit.

"What is she, Doctor?" She whispered softly, as the man turned again to receive the contents of The Doctor's pockets.

"She's a Grasht. They're spirits, really; they don't have a substantial form of their own, so they steal it by consuming the life-energies carried in another creature's blood. It's why their eyes are red." He answered, his tone quiet, but his face betrayed his disgust. "They're what vampires originated from."

"Move over Dracula," She muttered, appalled. He nodded empathetically at her revulsion. She looked away, scanning the room. Her eyes met the Grasht's, and she smiled, revealing rows of white, razor-sharp teeth; Donna noticed she had a second row behind them, and another after that. The girl winked, her bloody eyes sparkling. Donna closed her eyes, praying she wouldn't obey the sick feeling in her stomach.

"They're… like sharks." She managed, after several long breaths. "Three rows of teeth." The Timelord nodded.

"Carnivorous. Cannibalistic, as well, at times. Can smell blood in a six-mile radius- one drop and they'll know everything about you, right down to the pet your invisible friend had- your blood also carries minute segments of memories, thoughts etcetera. Grasht pick up on them."

"You know, I think I'd rather _not_ know any more about the sharks-with-legs thank you." She swallowed. The Doctor seemed not to hear her, he was looking at the Grasht intently, studying her every move.

"Fascinating creatures though; least known of all on the Most Dangerous list- probably 'cos you got eaten every time you tried to ask them anything. They give the word 'grumpy' a whole new level." He broke off and glanced at Mystery Man. Donna followed seconds behind.

The floor around him was littered with what could only be the contents of someone as crazy as the Doctor's pockets- a clockwork mouse, a bag of marbles, a phone battery and a miniature model of the world lay scattered with a necklace, _The Complete Works of Shakespeare,_ a bottle opener and-

"Since when do you like polo's?" Donna asked, pointing to the half-eaten packet rolling across the floor.

"They're not mine- Chewits are my calling," The Doctor grinned at her. "Can't beat a good Chewit. Haven't got any have you? I'm all out."

"Have a polo."

"Sorry, he can't. They're mine." A voice like wind-chimes sounded in Donna's ear. "They stop bad-breath after lunch." Yeah, she thought, shivering; wing-chimes straight from hell. Donna saw the Doctor wince, and she turned around.

And came nose to teeth with the source. The Grasht's eyes glittered brightly as Donna flinched at the close proximity. "Lunch is always the worst, when I have my little snack." The girl laughed and danced back to her previous position. "Get a bit peckish." Donna shivered, when she realised the girl wasn't talking about normal food. Abruptly, she turned back to the Doctor. "Why on earth do you need to carry _the Complete_ _works of William Shakespeare_ around with you?"

"Good friend was ol' Will," The Doctor grinned boyishly. "Great laugh too; he gave me his first ever copy of his complete works as a parting gift, so I had the manuscript printed and bound so I could keep it in me pocket in case I needed something to read. And I want that back, you know," He pointed sternly at the Grasht, who'd picked it up and was leafing through it without much interest. "The mind of a genius, I'll have you know. Set the trend for centuries, did Willie."

"Right," The man sighed, straightening, wafting himself casually with the Doctor's Physic Paper. "Not that unusual, but it'll be good in my collection… find anything else, my dear?" He asked the Grasht. She giggled again, the sound making Donna's blood freeze in her veins, made all the more worse knowing the girl could sense it. With speed that made her blur, the Grasht's hand flicked, and something landed in the man's palm with a small _thwack._

"Ah," He murmured, studying the object. He unfurled the chain, holding it up to the light, the tiny silver key on the end bobbing slightly with the momentum, flashing in the glare.

Donna felt the Doctor tense as the man continued to gaze at the key. "Oh," He turned and leered, greedy wonder filling his face. "Oh, now it get's interesting."


	5. Malice

Cethy: "Kethy"

**A/N: Right, I'm gonna give you this chapter alongside chapter four, and another one tomorrow, to make up for the long wait... **

**Cethy: "Kethy" **

_**Donna felt the Doctor tense as the man continued to gaze at the key. "Oh," He turned and leered, greed filling his face. "Oh, now it get's interesting." **_

**CHAPTER FIVE- Malice**

"And you are a Doctor… of what, exactly?" The man continued, not taking his eyes off of the key. If Donna remembered correctly, it was the TARDIS key, and if it was, she could only hope Mystery Man didn't know what it was.

"Depends on the occasion." The Doctor answered. "Medical, Bugs Bunny inspiration, Agony Aunt… I can do it al."

"Right…" The man sighed, still studying the intricate designs on the key.

"That's really just a key you know. Nothing special. Picked it up in a car boot"- The Timelord didn't get further; the man snapped two of his free fingers together, and instantly the figures had unchained the Doctor, each of the holding a wrist.

"Oh, I am going then? Right I'll just be- um, it helps if you let go you know," The Doctor said helpfully to the figure holding his right hand. They didn't move; he frowned and tugged. The iron grip didn't yield, and after several half-hearted heaves, he stopped and looked at the grin in a suit to continue.

"Now, simple enough to check," He was muttering, searching his pockets again; this time bringing out a plain silver stethoscope. "Right… this won't hurt."

"Just don't move." The Grasht cackled from her corner, showing all of her teeth; she seemed to find the idea of the Doctor being able to move whilst in the grip of the two figures amusing, which didn't raise Dona's hopes.

The man's hands were ice-cold as he pressed them to the Doctor's shirt, the chill seeping through the thin material. He was uncomfortable with the cold professional gaze he was getting from the man, and the impersonal way he kept looking at him, as if he were a dog in a shop. He felt the cool weight of the stethoscope ring replace one of the hands, and only then did he realise what the man was doing. He glanced at Donna, who was staring at him- still held tightly by the two figures, which he had a fair idea what they were too- and the man, who by now had switched to his other heart, a look of pleased surprise on his face.

"Fascinating," He breathed, still clutching the stethoscope. Abruptly, he straightened and turned away. "That's very interesting, because I am not an ignorant man, Doctor."

"Never said you were." He cut in, exhaling as the man's cold presence drifted further away from him.

"And I wouldn't, if I were you, either. People who do, tend to regret it. More to the point, I've the money and resources"-

"Naturally." The Doctor heard Donna mutter behind him.

-"to put rather a great deal of effort and research into particular things, if I want to. And because of this, I have gathered quite a collection of knowledge, over the years, Doctor, and one fact I have remembered quite clearly is this; there is only one creature in existence that lives with the full use of two hearts."

Cold swept over him as the man's words registered; the knowing smirk on his face was enough confirmation- he knew who the Doctor was.

"Now, wait a minute," He said, grasping at straws- rather difficult when you've lost the feeling in both of your arms. "What about Flisks, Sukis, those green things I can never remember the name of"-

"I said in _existence_- the Suki tribes have been extinct for several centuries- and Flisks only use one valves of each heart. As for whatever the other things were, I can only assume that you have invented them." He smiled, but the action wasn't an expression of happiness- it was a greedy person looking at something that would make him rich. "Timelords, however…"

The Doctor said nothing; the man knew too much.

"Remarkable creatures. Their telepathic technology was far more advanced than anything I've seen on the planet below us, or any other; connected to each other by single strands of their mental consciousness. And the regenerations! To be able to cheat Death no only once, but twelve times"-

"Is that what you want?" The Doctor said, and Donna could hear the bitterness. "To not die? Believe me, cheating death doesn't bring you happiness, or money or whatever else you want from it; it just makes you tired. You see every human friend you've ever made grow old and die around you; monarchs fall and see countless cities turn to dust. And by the end of it, you're lucky if you've still got what you started with left."

"Such passionate words, Doctor," The man sneered. "But I have no care for the regenerative secrets…"

"Ooh, that's a new one." He replied, winking at Donna. "The evil baddie doesn't want to live forever. Then what do you want?"

"I want the knowledge."

That stumped him for second, and he managed the best response he could in his surprise state. "You what?"

"Timelords. They're everywhere, if you know where to look; famous for so many things- the War, the time-travel, regenerating, their telepathic skills. Everybody knows something about them, even if they don't know what a Timelord was. And I want the knowledge that it all came from.

"They had the workings of the universe locked away in their heads, kept safe. Except the all got destroyed fighting the Daleks, and those secrets were lost.

"But now, I've got _you,_" He finished, satisfied with the stricken look on the Doctor's face.

"I can't give you what you want, Cethy." The Doctor said softly, his voice oddly steady, despite his face. The man started slightly and glared at him in shock.

"How did you"-

"Cethy Amil, the infamous mad collector." He explained, looking at Donna. "Got banished from the Republic of the Sun after he tried to kidnap their chieftain for the information she had on the inside workings of the Fell Monarch. The Shadow Proclamation has been keeping tabs on him for- sorry what year is this?" He asked a rather unnerved Amil.

"1327." The previously silent Grasht provided helpfully.

"1327?" Donna repeated, puzzled. "But, the technology and everything"-

"New byzantine Calendar," The Doctor explained under his breath. "They began again after the Earth exploded in the year five billion."

"Oh. Right. Wait, the Earth explodes in the year five billion?"

"Yes-oops, sorry, forgot it was Rose I showed the end of the world, not you." He looked at her apologetically; she rolled her eyes.

"Boy, you certainly know where to girls on dates." She said jokingly, but he took it as a compliment. With a quick 'ta' and a self-obsessed smile, the Doctor turned back to Cethy, who'd been patiently waiting.

"Right, where were we? Oh, so if it's the year 1327, then the Proclamation been tabbing him for… um, forty-seven years. Gosh, you really don't look your age you know- coulda sworn you were thirty-five."

Cethy snorted. "You can talk- you're what? Nine hundred?"

The Doctor sniffed. "I use night cream, what's your excuse?"

"Is he serious?" The Grasht asked, incredulous. Her question seemed to be aimed at Donna, and she felt weirdly compelled to answer.

"Not usually. But he has his moments- this could be one of them." Donna sighed. "But I really hope to _god_ it isn't."

"What would be wrong with me using night cream anyway, Noble?" The Doctor drew himself to his full height and then balanced on his toes to loom over Donna, all seriousness. But the façade faded and his smile returned, his heels touched the floor and the casualness swept in, even if he was chained up in a dungeon- for all his negligence, he could've been shooting a scene in a film. . He flicked his hair out of his eyes and winked at her. "Or do you think I look to good to need it?"

"Ugh, you get more like Jack every day."

"Right, can I interrupt, please?" Cethy barked, making them turn back towards him. Donna opened her mouth indignantly to snap back at him, but he cut her off. "No, no more words from you, lady. You've got a lip bigger than Brazil on you and it's driving me up the wall."

"You sound like my grandma." Donna retorted, ignoring the Doctor's muffled sniggers. "You look a bit like her actually. Not a Pam in another life were you?"

"Quiet possible." The Doctor thoughtfully added. "No-one can be sure really. Well, I can, but that's beside the point."

"Yes it is, Doctor," Cethy snapped irritated. "Anyway, I have something that might be of interest to you- you can see it before I decide which way you give me the information I want."

"I've told you, Amil. It's physically impossible, and even if it wasn't, I still wouldn't do it. All about morals me, you see."

Cethy only smiled, which only made Donna feel worse than if he snarled at her. "Oh, well then- it's decided. By force it seems. It is a shame; you Gallifrian's are _so _stubborn."

Behind him, the Grasht giggled again, her eyes glowing with anticipation.


	6. Glass

CHAPTER SIX-

**A/N: Right okay... um, to all those who reviwed- again, am very sorry for the such a long wait between chapters 3 and 4... **

**Horserocks8- am obliging, and seen as the whole story is already written, I'l give you another chapter today if I can manage it, and another tomorrow... **

**Kitty bridgeta- well, she might do- can't reveal anything here. But if she doesn't, you can remain sure in the knowledge that there WILL be a sequel. Maybe she will be in that one... **

**Majnoona- love the name!**

"_**Oh, well then- it's decided. By force it seems. It is a shame; you Gallifrian's are **_**so**_** stubborn."**_

_**Behind him, the Grasht giggled again, her eyes glowing with anticipation. **_

**CHAPTER SIX-Glass **

"Look," The Doctor said angrily as he was hauled along by the cloaked servants. "I don't care how you try and get the information out of me, Cethy; it won't work- it'll only get people killed."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic." Cethy drawled.

"Believe me, Cethy; I am _not_ being dramatic- trust me, I can do dramatic. Is that what you prefer? Would you listen to me if I did?"

"Don't encourage him." Donna muttered, nearly tripping over as another of the figures shoved her forward. She'd been right; they were as hard as steel- she could feel the bruises already. Cethy snarled and turned around, facing the two prisoners.

"Right," He said frostily, pointing at Donna. "You shut up completely. And you," He frowned at the Doctor, who glared back. "I'm going to show you what happens to people who mess with me, Doctor. And if you are as wise you seem to be, you will not follow in your friend's footsteps."

"What friend?" He asked, looking quickly at Donna.

"The one I shall show in a minute." Cethy turned away. Wrenching a wrist free from the creatures, the Doctor grabbed the back of Cethy's jacket and spun him round to face him again before the cloaks had him restrained.

"Listen to me," He said, looking intently into Cethy's eyes; his voice low and dangerous- the steel edge probably what made the man stop and obey. "If you do this, Cethy, people will die; my mind is locked, even to me alright? I don't know what you planning to do, but do you want the lives of innocent people on your hands?" Instead of the impact he must have been expecting, all the Doctor got in response was a smile.

"Let me worry about that part Doctor," He said quietly, menacingly, his eyes dark and cold. "They can join the list."

Donna shivered as her blood froze again with the realisation of just how evil this man was, and the lengths he would take to secure the Doctor's knowledge of the universe. She felt the Doctor's anger and disgust wash over her as his barriers slipped once more. She was getting better at controlling the waves now; she never lost control any more, and she was able to ignore the thoughts and feelings until they shrunk back into his mind again.

"Besides," She snapped out of her daze at Cethy's voice. "We've done this procedure before, Doctor."

"With a Timelord, though?" The Doctor countered, but Cethy only smiled- not his usual, greedy smile, but a new one, with something in it Donna couldn't place, but it chilled her, and she knew she'd be happier to get away from this place even more so than her mother's awkward Christmas dinner she sat through every year. And that was saying something.

Cethy didn't elaborate though, only snapped his fingers at the walking robes- who roughly shoved their captives forward, ignoring the moans coming from one of them (**A/N: Three guess who that was)**- and strode through a set of open doors, each of them taller than the Doctor even, and as thick as Donna's forearm, both a dull silver, but if you looked closely, you could see several different shades of grey, and- if you were imaginative- even some pale lavender. Not that Donna got much of a chance to study them as she was hauled past them by the over-grown Goths.

Several corridors, more complaining on Donna's part and a few harsh jabs in the back later and they were in a wide circular room, two white leatherette sofas encircled a glass table, crystal-cut glasses and a decanter of some pale liquid perched on it, reflecting the soft light of the blue fire dancing in the fireplace next to it. She looked to the Doctor for an answer, and he replied to her silent query quietly, "The wood is high in salt- it's probably been carted in from the sea." She nodded and resumed her survey. Behind it was a darker grey wall, inset with several glass windows. It reminded Donna of the tanks you'd see, filled with lizards or turtles in pet shops; a bit like fish tanks set into the walls, really.

Only much bigger. The one nearest to Donna was big enough that she could easily have sat in it quite comfortably- aside from the fact that she would have been sitting in a glass tank of course- with a good foot and a half above her head, and enough room to lie down horizontally. Everything was in varying shades of white and grey, any decoration made of glass. The only colour in the room, besides themselves, was the flickering blue fire. Even the strange liquid in the crystal jug on the table was a sick, pale colour.

"What do you think?" Cethy asked, slumping on one of sofa's lazily, gazing up at them speculatively. The Grasht sat down on the other in one graceful swoop, content to cross her legs and stare into the fire.

"Bit grey; kinda like a show house." Donna answered, still looking around.

"Methinks it is polite to offer guests seats too, you know," The Doctor supplied helpfully, earning himself a clip round the ear from one of his guards. "Ow… will people stop hitting me please!" He ducked out of the way from the other guards hand before it could attempt its own ear-clippage. "It hurts." He muttered, rubbing his ear pitifully. Donna snorted, glaring at her own guards, daring them to try and clip _her_ round the ear. They seemed to heed her silent warning and their hands remained by their sides- she'd only just noticed that they wore shiny metal gloves that clinked with every movement. Their hands were the wrong shape, and she flinched as she wondered what they looked like under the metal.

"So, you gonna tell us what's the deal with the over-sized fish tanks or what?" Donna asked, once she'd determined that the Goths weren't going to slap her. Cethy frowned at her icily.

"You're officially the most annoying women I've ever met." He scowled at her, she returned the glare, sorely tempted to cross her arms and stick her tongue out at him. But she was getting too old for that. "So shut up or I'll stick you in a tank." He nodded warningly at the wall.

"And you've just proved that you're social life is sadly out-dated, Vera Duckworth." She snapped, giving the Doctor a fierce 'oi' as he laughed. His smile disappeared instantly and he muttered "sorry, Donna" quietly. She turned her glare on the vampire-girl, who, taken by surprise, ducked her head like a naughty kid. "That's a little better." She said, satisfied. With the exception of the super-Goths, she'd managed to cow or annoy everyone in the room within minutes of being there. Bingo.

"So," She continued, taking control of the situation. "The subject of the creepy fish-tanks…"

Cethy smiled that same disturbing smile as before- Donna flinched inwardly- and replied in a voice thick with dark amusement, as if he'd just stabbed someone with a pencil and though it was funny. "Used as pet cages- though I could make an exception, if you continue to annoy me, Miss Noble. Of course, being a gentleman, I'll let you choose which one I stick you in."

"You wish. You wish." She snapped, secretly rather unnerved at the revelation that the tanks were used to keep animals in- she'd never been claustrophobic, but the idea of being put in one of the things scared her witless. Cethy only smiled coldly and turned back to the Doctor "It's why I brought the two of you here." He leapt up and wandered towards them, absentmindedly stroking the glass table. "It took longer than I imagined, but"-

"_You_ brought us here?" Donna interrupted, glancing at the Doctor. Cethy grimaced, annoyed.

"You're the worst prisoner I've ever had, Miss Noble." Cethy huffed. "Now, if you would be so kind as to let me continue…""

"Yes, Donna, shush." The Doctor stage-whispered to her across the room. "It's bad enough when you have to annoy me every day, without causing our captors any agro too." Donna snorted, but remained silent.

Cethy looked satisfied, and nodded to a spot over the Doctor's shoulder. He clicked his fingers again, and Donna was released; the creatures going to stand in shallow alcoves set into the walls. She winced as feeling fed back into her arms again, making them tingle. She smirked at the Doctor, who looked offended, "How come she gets the feeling back in her arms and I don't?" he moaned.

"Because you are a threat, she is not." Cethy growled. Donna scowled at the Doctor, who only shrugged. "What can I say?" He said, straightening. "I'm just great."

"Yeah, great enough to have all the nerves in your arms cut off, Doctor?" Donna sniggered. Cethy snarled and gestured at the figures holding the Doctor. They released him, but clipped metal rings around each wrist first. "Electromagnetic containment ringlets," Cethy explained smugly. "Capable of emitting a strong electric pulse, effectively blocking neural reactor signals, preventing movement. I invented them."

"Very clever," The Timelord nodded approvingly. "Be even nicer if they weren't on me." Cethy ignored him and began speaking.

"I've been monitoring the galactic sonar-scans for signs of approach for several days, and then _you _turn up- out of the blue, bringing with you the most annoying hag I've ever had the misfortune to meet"-

"Oh, now, come on; that's a bit harsh. Donna's great, we love Donna. She's a great mate." The Doctor said, looking over at Donna appreciatively; she smiled back.

"- and start causing havoc with the nurses. The Shal who imprisoned you"-

"Yeah, I'll be having words with her. Stuck up for her when Donna was bullying her, I did. And in return, she threw me in the vile dungeon-y, prison-y… thing." He scowled and scuffed his feet on the floor irritably. Cethy ignored him and continued.

"She reported that two people- one of them obscenely rude"- he glared at Donna, and she couldn't resist the temptation. Bah, stick being too old; you never grew out of sticking your tongue out at annoying rat-men in suits.

-"had breached security and they had been safely secured. And I come down here for inspection- and I find… you, Doctor. Complete with sonic screwdriver, psychic papers and a TARDIS! Minus all the idiotic junk…"

"Hey!" The Timelord cried, offended. "It's not junk; I'll have you know it's all very important! Ugh, you wouldn't understand…" He shrugged irritably and sniffed.

"… and after thinking I had the very last one in existence…" Cethy continued, oblivious to the Doctor's ramblings, that'd stopped after his words. He caught the look on the Timelords face, and smiled.

"Ah, you thought you were alone too, didn't you?"

"Doctor…" Donna tugged on his shirt-sleeve slightly, looking at what was behind them. He didn't answer, only stared at Cethy.

"Travelling for such a long time- how many centuries since the Time War? Seven? I don't, I wasn't there- all those years, thinking you were the last of your kind, when there was another, all the way on the other side of the universe; distant, but still there. Still alive."

"Doctor…" She said again, louder, and this time, he looked down at her, his face unsure. Cethy nodded, looking at a point slightly over the Doctor's shoulder.

"She was a fighter, like you; it took a great deal of power and investment on my part to get what I wanted from her." He laughed cruelly to himself, and behind him, the Grasht giggled with him.

"Doctor, look." Donna whispered, looked behind her, he turned as she did, and his response caught in his throat.

**A/N: Right, evil cliff hanger there for you… have got to say, I do rather like this story (alright, now I sound vain.) The next is one of my favourites... **


	7. Her

"Doctor, look

**A/N: ****Am true to my promise... hopefully an update tomorrow- review!**

"_**Doctor, look." Donna whispered, looked behind her, he turned as she did, and his response caught in his throat. **_

**CHAPTER SEVEN- Her **

As Donna gazed at the motionless form behind her, she felt a rush of recognition, though she knew she'd never seen the girl before, anywhere.

Images flashed before her eyes in rapid succession, barely registering; a tiny baby, a black-haired five-year old looking at the blue-green flame flickering in her hand, her eyes shining with pride up at an older, brown-haired boy as she sat in his lap, laughing as he winked at her and put his hand next to hers, a dark purplish flame erupting from his palm. A girl, older but still obviously the same child, running barefoot over a beach, yelling, in her hands an odd sea creature of some description; a crab, but blue and with too many legs. The images were slower now, each accompanied by a wracking pain that resonated deep in her chest, all over, occupying any spare space in her body, refusing to fade…

The girl, older now; just left adolescence, but she'd already seen two centuries slip by, blue-green flames licking her finger-tips and twisting around her stomach and following her curve of her body as she danced in a circle, the movements strange and foreign to Donna, whereas the girl seemed totally at ease…

The heat, the screams, the smell, it all hit her as one immense force; people, all around her, shouting, yelling, _dying. _Her face, standing out in the hordes of twisting bodies; her blue robes spattered with red, a lethal-looking weapon held loosely and with contempt in her hand, knowing smile on her lips, her free hand half-raised in goodbye before the crowd swallowed her. Donna gasped as more pain hit her; the memory of the realisation, that she was in the clutches of his merciless enemy, of knowing he'd never see her again…

All of it past through her mind in a barest second, although an eternity could've passed. She blinked; the link to the Doctor's mind gone, and the images already fading. Donna realised she was still holding his shirt-sleeve, and she let go quickly, allowing him to turn his whole body until he was facing the girl.

She was huddled in the corner of one of the tanks- raised on a dais instead of set into the wall- around her wrists and ankles thick metal manacles, but no chains strung between them, so the could've passed as bracelets, if not for the bloody mess the skin around where they dug into her was.

Next to her, the Doctor was obviously struggling against the slim loops around his wrists that were preventing him from moving. With a small gasp of pain- Donna felt it shoot through her chest quickly- the hoops de-magnetised and he sprang forward, sprinting to the tank and collapsing on his knees in front of it, searching desperately for the opening.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you, Doctor," Cethy drawled, and Donna turned to glare at him hatefully. "The glass is built to with-strain up to ten tonnes of water-weight; you won't be able to break it."

"Let her out," He snarled turning round to face Cethy. "You let her out right now!" his voice was dark and cold, all traces of the Doctor she knew gone, leaving only this behind, cold and dark and empty.

"Who is she to you, Doctor?" The man seemed perfectly comfortable under the Doctor's dark glare, and waved away the imposing cloaks when he stepped forward. "Or is it just that she is a Timelord that makes you care for her?" The Doctor didn't answer, and Donna flinched at the livid look on his face. Cethy didn't. "No matter- it is of no interest to me really- and I'll know soon enough anyway." He smiled again, sending shivers down Donna's spine, and turned on his heel, nodding to the Grasht, "Come, Adiel, there is work." And the girl leapt up immediately, like an obedient dog. Without another word, or even a backward glance, the two, shadowed by the four figures, left the room, closing the thick steel doors after them.

The silence was deafening, and when Donna turned, she realised the Doctor wasn't next to her; he was leaning sideways against the tank, looking at the hand he had pressed on it. His eyes closed, and his pain swept over her again, so intense and raw it made he stumble slightly, like missing a step on the stairs. He didn't notice, and she pushed it away, though her heart still hurt- but with her pain, not his.

"I'm so sorry." She saw his mouth form the words, but heard nothing. He blinked and a single tear fell on his face as the girl unfolded herself from her corner, and inched her way over to him.

Donna lowered herself to the floor and crossed her legs several feet away from him, watching as the girl rested her forehead against the glass-the movement making no noise that she could hear- and put her hand over the Doctor's, several inches of thick, impenetrable glass the only thing between them.

Blankness was the only thing she could see in the girl's eyes; no recognition whatsoever- as she thought this, she saw him turn and look at her, his eyes full of the pain she could feel.

"She doesn't recognise me, Donna." He whispered, covering his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking with the effort she knew it took him to stay composed. "At all." She moved to him and put her arms around his shoulders. For once he didn't resist, letting her comfort him. At the touch, she felt his mind wash over hers, showing her everything, and at once she knew the meaning behind the pictures.

His little sister, who knew him better than anyone else in his world had, who'd sat in his lap and laughed when he'd shown her simple tricks and then taught her how to do them, who'd followed him everywhere, and hadn't teased him for any of his habits of loves, who'd swallowed everything he'd told her, because she knew he'd never lie. His Alina, who'd said she stay with him forever, because she loved him. The sister who'd taught him how to Firedance, and hadn't laughed when he'd got it wrong. The one he'd promised he'd never let anything happen to.

He failed her.

They had to fight when the War came and he hadn't protected her. Hadn't tried hard enough, even though she'd said she didn't need the help… she was just as powerful as him, but she couldn't stop the possibilities.

Donna felt the tears streaming down her face, but she didn't try to stop them; she could barely see, but she didn't need to; everything was in her head.

Walking away after the battle, having not found her again, going back alone, it was worse than if they'd killed him. Thinking he kept seeing her, hearing her behind him every step that took him closer to his unit. Feeling the bitter loss for the first time, knowing she would be dead, _hoping_ she would be dead, and knowing that the alternative at the hands of the enemy was far worse. Felt it tear him apart, the holes the realisation left only filling with more pain than he could live with. Carrying it with him whenever he fought, using the hurt to live through the fights; making him immune to the danger, to the bite of weapons. He let himself drown in all the guilt, the pain, the anger he felt, used it to block out the memories of doing the one thing he hated most; killing things- killing people, even if they were evil.

All of his guilt, the anger he'd felt, it flooded Donna's mind; making her hate it, hate herself. How could she leave her own sister? Her little sister, who wouldn't have fought in a war if she'd had a choice… all her fault, she should have protected her better, tried harder-

Slowly, Donna opened her eyes. She was looking at the tank, and the dark, confused eyes of his sister, the one he'd never mentioned. She felt a stab of bitter, sharp guilt- all the time she'd been with him, and she'd never thought to ask him who he'd lost. And all this time he- the _Doctor_- had a _sister._..

She looked at the Doctor- his arms still wrapped around Donna's shoulders, their head touching- and frowned, as if she understood the agonised expression on his face and didn't like it, and desperately wanted to make it go away, but couldn't remember how. _Help me_, her eyes begged. _Help me understand, help_ _me help him. _

Donna tried to swallow the lump in her throat at the girl's face, but she couldn't, and only managed a half-coherent whisper. "I can't." She choked, more tears falling as the girl's beautiful face crumpled, and two tears fell down her own face. Alina touched her cheek softly, as if she were surprised to find them wet, and looked back at Donna to explain. It reminded her of the look you would get from a child, encountering something they didn't understand, and it made her hurt even more at the seeing the same expression on an older person's face. Why was she like this? What had happened to the girl? Alina touched the glass softly with just her fingertips again, struggling to understand why two strangers were sitting in a heap in front of her tank, doing something she didn't understand; their faces made her chest hurt, and she wanted to make them change them somehow, to make them better, but she couldn't think properly.

The Doctor pulled away from her quickly, and Donna was surprised and saddened to see the unshed tears his eyes held, the wet lines on his face where several of them had fallen and mixed with hers, despite the effort he was using to prevent it. He wouldn't look at her, only closed his eyes, drew a shaky breath and stood up. She rose, linking her fingers through his; he didn't pull away, and she felt the silent gratitude in his mind.

"Alina," Donna whispered, looking at the girl sadly through the glass. "What happened, Doctor?"

"Her minds been violated by some force, and it's broken the mind barrier she had, making her mind channel obvious to any Timelords. Whoever did this to her didn't much care for preserving anything," His voice wavered and broke as he tried to explain. She squeezed his hand comfortingly, and held on tightly as he continued. "Her sub-consciousness has been ripped apart in their search. She obviously fought them for as long as she could, and it made the damage worse."

"How badly?" Donna whispered, not taking her eyes of the Doctor's face; his eyes closed quickly in response.

_Don't tell me, just don't think about it._ Even though she though the words, Donna knew he would somehow hear them. He sighed heavily, for once seeming to feel every one of his nine hundred and four years, and sank back to the floor, dragging Donna with him. He smiled humourlessly as he watched Alina, who was still staring at them, her face frustratedly confused.

"I remember when she was still just a kid, she used to follow me everywhere, and I should have found it annoying, but I didn't. I loved every second I spent with my sister; we were closer to each other than anyone else." He broke, not saying anything else. It was hard for him, she knew; talking about the life he'd lost. She didn't press further.

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Donna didn't try and push away the Doctor's mind now, instead letting it sweep over her and then withdraw, like a wave. He looked at her, for once not covering his pain with another emotion, letting her see what he really felt.

"There nothing I can do, Donna." He said, wincing as his own words hurt him. "I can't even touch her, let alone help her." To prove it, his free hand pressed against the glass again, folding into a fist as his anger burned.

_Maybe killing him will help her. _Her mind whispered, brushing against his. She expected him to answer with words, but instead she heard a voice, deep in her head; the same voice she'd heard calling her in the TARDIS, drawing her back from the noise, stopping her from losing herself in the chaos that had over-taken her consciousness. It was the voice of an angel;

_Cethy is evil and corrupt, he has destroyed Alina's mind, but that doesn't give me the right to take his life from him. His death is not the answer, if he does what I tell him and stops playing this game. He has to be stopped. _The grim certainty behind the angel's words was frightening, but Donna wasn't afraid; she knew he would hate killing Cethy, but he would only do so-even after what the man had done- to prevent others being endangered by him. Part of him would hate himself for killing Amil, however justified it was.

But another part wouldn't. That was his caring side, not the first; he'd loved his sister, Donna knew, and what Amil had done; to shred her mind and pick it for the knowledge he wanted- knowledge he hadn't gotten-was horribly cruel, and the part that loved Alina raged for her torturers death, something his conscious would not allow. But he would partly enjoy killing him, if Cethy proved a threat.

Donna paused, new parts of the Doctor's mind open to her now; she hadn't slipped past his barriers this time, she'd been welcomed into it by him, and because of it, she could see far more than the other times.

_What do you look like Doctor?_ She whispered, sensing his surprise.

_You know what I look like, Donna._ He answered, bemused. She shook her head.

_No, I don't- you hide what you really look like, because other wise everyone would know you weren't… human._ She said, her thoughts turning to silent words as fast as she thought them. Donna felt the Doctor's realisation. _You're voice, too. You showed me what it really sounded like in the TARDIS when you were calling me. Your real voice is beautiful. _She added, glad that they weren't speaking face-to-face (conveniently forgetting that he was right next to her).

There was a short silence, then-

_Thank you. _He paused. _I look… like myself, but also… not. It is a difficult thing to explain, Donna. _

_Show me._

He didn't agree, but he didn't refuse either, so Donna changed the subject.

_No problem. How… how will you kill him? _Donna asked hesitantly. She heard him laugh bitterly.

_He is human, Donna._ He answered grimly. _He has many weaknesses._

Donna didn't know how to reply, so she said nothing. With a sigh, she severed the link between their minds and opened her eyes.

And froze, her blood solidifying as she remained locked in the blood-red gaze of the Grasht, who was inches from her face. She opened her mouth, revealing the endless rows of sharp, lethal teeth, moving closer with every panicked breath Donna took. She couldn't move, her joints were locked into position, and she could do nothing to stop the girl from closing the gap between them. The Grasht's teeth were brushing against her skin when she whipped her head back, a feral snarl erupting from her chest.

The Doctor stood in front of Adiel- now more animal than girl- holding a branch in his hand, blue fire dancing across it. His eyes were cold as he looked at the Grasht. She growled menacingly, eying the branch warily.

"Last chance, Adiel." He said quietly, but without emotion. She snarled again, tensing as he moved closer.

"Come near me and I'll kill you." She hissed, flinching slightly as the wood popped, a spark landing several feet away from her. The Doctor ignored her warning and stepped forward slightly.

"You'll kill me anyway; doing what Cethy orders you to." He retorted flatly. "Grasht also feed off of neural energy, Donna." He added, looking at Donna.

"_She _did this to your sister?" Donna asked, horrified. The Grasht leered at her.

"Oh yeeess." She hissed, taunting and laughing maniacally. "She was so stubborn, she wouldn't let me into her mind, so I had to break it first. I remember how she screamed"-

And the Doctor lunged at her.

**A/N: Ooh, like this chapter... review, tell me if any of you saw **_**that **_**coming!!**


	8. The Guardians

CHAPTER EIGHT-

**A/N: Right people, probably won't be updating until next weekend, when I might have internet access- unless I get to my friend's house on Tuesday... **

**Oh, and I have a poll on my profile (or should do!), concerning characters for the sequel. I know the basic plot, but if you would like specific people to feature in it, let me know!! **

"_**She was so stubborn," She taunted, laughing maniacally. "She wouldn't let me into her mind, so I had to break it first. I remember how she screamed"- **_

_**And the Doctor lunged at her. **_

**CHAPTER EIGHT- The Guardians**

The Grasht moved faster than Donna's eyes could follow; she blurred as she leapt.

But the Doctor was faster. He turned fluidly as she did, and the girl met the fire head on. She screamed, the grating sound making Donna wince. She opened her eyes in time to see the girl crash into the floor, wailing eerily and clawing at her face, where the fire still clung to her.

"Grasht don't like fire, Donna," The Doctor explained, his cold eyes watching the Grasht's every writhe on the floor without an ounce of pity. "Particularly Anni Fire. The wood's growth is spurred by heat- so it never get's burnt, as the heat makes it grow."

"Everlasting fire." She said quietly, impressed. He nodded. "That'll be one to tell the grand-kids." She recoiled as the Grasht crawled pitifully over to her, pain making her flawless features twist into a ugly grimace. The girl's eyes screamed at Donna to help her, and she felt oddly compelled to do just that. The Doctor sensed her wavering resolve.

_She's killed hundreds of innocent people, Donna._ He thought softly. She sighed, torn.

_I know, but that's what she is._ _Does her manner of survival give us the right to take her life from her? _She argued quietly, and she felt him nod approvingly. She snorted silently. _I sound like you, Doctor. _

_I know_. He paused, and then closed his eyes. _I can forgive her for the_ _murders Donna, and if I could, I'd let her go- but she needs regular surges of energy to maintain her form. I can't let her go. _

_No, not when you know she will kill more if you do_. Donna finished for him. She felt him look at her, and she opened her eyes. She nodded. "Do what you have to." She said aloud, smiling crookedly at him, he smiled sadly, and turned back to the Grasht. She'd watched the silent exchange and had fierce desperation on her face.

"You can't kill me for what I am, Doctor." She spat. "It's not my fault."

"You chose this, Adiel." He retorted, and she looked away. Only then did Donna notice that he was slipping what looked like a silver bangle off his wrist, it being recently concealed by his shirt. "You chose this over humanity, just so you could live. You feed off of your own race so you can outlive them. That's pretty much your fault." He finished, stepping back, throwing the silver object at her. Reflectively, she caught it, and then stared in horror as the chains in her grasp came alive at her touch, winding their way up her fingers and over her wrists like silver snakes.

"Please, get them off me!" She screamed, tearing at the chains- now growing rapidly- that were now travelling over her torso, refusing to be prised from her skin by her desperate fingers. The weight made her knees crumple and she lay, thrashing, on the floor, her breathing laboured as the chains continued to criss-cross over her.

"Containment chains." The Doctor explained, his eyes cold, but Donna could hear the sadness as he watched the girl. "Grow using the life-energy from your body, until your haven't got any left." Donna turned, watching the girl, who didn't seem to register their existence; every breath was an effort for her, and for a moment she was just a girl, not a cruel-hearted creature that sucked the life from your in order to live.

"She wasn't a pure Grasht." He said quietly, after the girl's eyes closed and her chest ceased to rise and fall as she breathed- the chains, now without a power source to drain, motionless, looking like ordinary cuffs. "She was human, once, but she wanted the power and the strength the Grasht race possessed. Convinced one of them to make her like them, and she became something that preyed on her past race. A cannibal, technically."

"How do you know?" Donna asked, and he turned to her, his eyes sad.

"Real Grasht are much more refined, more predatory- she still had a human mind, but in a hardened new body that need other creature's energy. More so than a regular Grasht even, and harder to control."

Donna looked down at the limp form wordlessly.

"She was always going to die, Donna; she's a human-Grasht meta-combination. A doomed hybrid- her human mind didn't have the capacity to house the complex workings of a Grasht's body and instincts. Her mind would have imploded soon enough under the strain. I think Cethy knew that, too." His eyes hardened and cooled, the sadness swiftly turning to anger. "He was cruel to let her live so long."

He turned away from the girl, and Donna stood quietly, looking at her sadly. The Doctor had done the kindest thing possible to the creature that had destroyed his sister's mind, because he couldn't make himself hate something like it. He'd pitied her, even after the heinous things she had committed, because that's how his mind worked. He hated hurting anything, even something that deserved it. It made her wonder what he would happen when he found someone he couldn't forgive.

The deep boom of the steel doors being swung open snapped her out of her reverie; she turned in time to she Cethy Amil, flanked by two of the Goths, and Albert the Giant Female Cat.

"Oh," Cethy said, sopping when he caught Donna's glare. "You are supposed to be dead."

"Yeah, well." She snapped, crossing her arms at him. His eyes narrowed and he glanced around the room. "We can't all have everything."

"Adiel was a bit thirsty; she was going to use you- but perhaps it fortunate she didn't"- he looked at her distastefully. "What have you done with her anyway, woman?"

"Watch it _man._" She growled, and he glared. She smiled sweetly at Albert. "Hi, Tibbles, want some milk?" The cat hissed.

"I don't have time for this- I have your friend to attend to." He turned sharply and faced the Doctor who was standing by the tank. "Have you given any more thought to my request?" He asked pleasantly. The Doctor ignored him.

"Open it right now and let her out." He ordered flatly, his voice dark. Cethy only smiled.

"Wouldn't you rather talk first?"

"Don't play games with me, Cethy." He spat angrily. "You've hurt her and that is _not_ a good place for you to stand." Donna could feel his anger radiating towards Cethy, fiercely. The man seemed unperturbed however, and only glanced at the cloaked figures meaningfully. They straightened and move forward, the metal in their hoods glinting in the fire-light.

Fire.

With a rush of hope, Donna began to move discreetly closer to the fireplace, and the burning wood. Perhaps if she could manage to distract the cloaked people by lobbing some burning wood…

"So you didn't get the answers you wanted from Alina, so now you want my mind to see if you can find the answers there." The Doctor said, watching the advancing reapers warily.

"You're clever," Cethy said, moving to sit on the furthest sofa, starting slightly as he spotted Adiel lying on the floor. "Ah, so that's where she got to. Kill her did you?"

"It's cruel to let her live and you know it, Cethy." The Doctor retorted. "You knew what she was, yet you didn't help her."

"She had her uses." Cethy shrugged, ignoring the Doctor's appalled look. "Now, where were we? Oh, yes; you were going to give me what I want." The Doctor's face darkened as Cethy smiled expectantly.

"But, wait a minute," Donna interrupted. Cethy sighed heavily and turned to her. "_What_, woman?"

"It's just, he won't give you it intentionally," Donna began, ignoring the snide remark. "So you'd have to take it by force- but Adiel's dead. So you can't do whatever it is you were planning to do." Cethy looked untroubled.

"Adiel wasn't the only tool he could use, Donna," the Doctor answered, his eyes fixed on the shrouded servants, who were advancing slowly. "He's got others." Donna turned just as the figures raised their hands and lifted their hoods.

She couldn't prevent a small gasp escaping as their faces were revealed.

"Like my little servants, Miss Noble?" Cethy sneered as she swallowed convulsively. The Doctor squeezed her hand as she struggled for breath.

The sharp, metallic thing that Donna had mistaken for a blade was actually a huge, cruel-looking beak, as long as her whole arm and ending in a vicious curve, like a bird of prey's. The creature's skin was a sharp blackish-grey, most of it covered in sleek, ash- feathers, their black-tipped ends looking like they'd been dipped in ink. Their eyes were black merciless pits- they had no visible ears, and the nose was two slits on the top of the beak.

"Huh. Two giant birds and a cat in the same room- I can see where this is going…" Donna muttered eyeing the tense cat-person warily.

"Just tried not to get in the way when Albert springs- I've got not milk on me." The Doctor murmured back.

"Now I'll finally be at peace- kill the woman." Cethy ordered, and the two birds-things turned and redirected their course- heading for her, their hands-

Oh. Donna blinked. Their hands- what she'd taken for metal gloves actually seemed to be their hands, only now each finger had a three-inch long nasty-looking talon sprouted from it.

"You can see where the inspiration for Edward Scissor-hands came from." Donna said, making Cethy wince. "Um, hi." She said, waving a little at the nearest thing, making sure it's attention was on her. It didn't say anything, though she though she heard something like a rasp, but she could have been mistaken; the things didn't have mouths, so she couldn't tell. Sixteen steel talons slashed the air in front of her, one of them catching the arm she threw up in front of her face, slicing from her wrist to her elbow in a long, deep gash. Blood began to drip down her arm, but she hardly noticed, as the talons came for another attack. She dropped and rolled away, vaguely hearing a cat-like hiss, and several raspy shrieks, which she guessed meant good old Albert had succumbed to her catty instincts, and had leapt at the bird-things. Strong hands pulled her to her to her feet in one motion, and then the Doctor was propelling her across the room towards the tank, feathers and fur flying everywhere as the two things rolled around on the floor, spitting and squawking loudly. Donna reached the tank seconds later, Alina huddled, terrified, in the corner furthest from them. The Doctor paused long enough to dislodge several burning logs from the fire, sending them tumbling away across the floor to add to the melee. He searched frantically around the edges for the opening.

"I can't find it, Donna- and with my sonic screwdriver I can't do anything"-

"We'll have to rely on the traditional method then!" She shouted back over the melee behind them. Without waiting for his answer, she swung her foot back behind her and, with a most unladylike grunt, sent it careening towards the glass.


	9. Run

"We'll have to rely on the traditional method then

"_**We'll have to rely on the traditional method then!" She shouted back over the melee behind them. Without waiting for his answer, she swung her foot back and sent it careening towards the glass. **_

**CHAPTER NINE-Run**

Whoever Cethy Amil had paid to provide ten-tonne weight–proof glass must have been laughing all the way to the luxury mansion he'd probably been able to buy, because, as it turned out, it wasn't able to withstand anything more than perhaps a mouse's sneeze; it shattered under Donna's boot spectacularly, spraying them all with pieces of glass.

The Doctor has recovered the fastest, picking Alina up with both hands and turning to the open door before Donna had even moved her foot.

"Since when has that been a traditional method, by the way?" he called over his shoulder.

"What?" Donna asked, smiling. 'You never heard the phrase; if you don't understand something, kick it?" He winced at her words, making her laugh.

The scuffle between Albert and one of the birds was occupying everyone's attention, and they made their way across half the room before they encountered their first obstacle.

"Right, you stay here and I'll handle Clippers over there," Donna muttered under her breath, and the second bird-creature lurched towards them, talon slashing. Looking around desperately for a weapon, her eyes fell on the decanter on the table next to her. _Oh, it's better than nothing, _she though, and lobbed the bottle at the approaching figure.

The crystal smashed on impact, the pale liquid covering the creature. While it stopped to wipe its eyes, Donna stooped and picked up one of the branches in the fire.

"Let's see if the stuff's flammable, eh?" she muttered, and threw the branch. The bird-thing shrieked as flames exploded into life and fell to the floor, clawing at its face, emitting a high, keening wail of pain every few seconds. Donna looked at the Doctor dubiously.

"Talk 'bout over-dramatic." She snorted and leapt over the writhing figure, the three of them slipping through the door and bolting it without any inside noticing.

"Right… which way?" she asked, looking down the two corridors.

"Um, left?" The Doctor answered. Donna threw him a glance.

"Are you saying left 'cos you know, of because you're guessing?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Guessing of course, now come on!" He took of without waiting for her response, faster than her even when he was carrying the girl as well. It made her annoyed knowing that a man more than twenty times older than her could still outrun her. Oh well, she'd never wanted to be in the Olympics anyway, she thought as she ran after him.

Luck was with them, and they managed to find the room they had been imprisoned in fairly quickly before their captors had realised the entertainment had gone walkabout. The Doctor had lowered Alina's limp form gently to the floor, and then scrabbled around trying to recover everything that had been taken out of his coat pockets.

"What is all this rubbish?" Donna asked, holding up a bag of what looked like dried seaweed in one hand, and a phone battery in the other. "I mean, what's this about? You don't even _have_ a phone." The Doctor looked at her, offended. "Do too. See? Nice huh." He held up a sleek silver Sony Ericsson, waving it about proudly. "Hey, my stuff is _not _tat."

"Is too." Donna teased, and then frowned. "You don't seriously carry around all this tat with you, do you? How _heavy_ is your coat?"

"Course I do- why d'you think I run so slowly?!" He said, only half-jokingly. Donna shook her head wordlessly as he continued shoving things into his coat.

"Well whatdiyaknow," the Doctor cried happily, holding up a red packet. "I did have Chewits after all! Strawberry ones, too."

After everything had been crammed into the Doctor's pockets- they'd found the physic paper in a cobweb (the Doctor had muttered a sincere apology at the disgruntled spid lurking in the corner of the web as he wrenched the wallet free, taking most of the silk with it)-and somehow the Doctor had swiped the TARDIS key before leaving- but Amil still had the screwdriver.

"We'll have to leave without it." He said miserably. "It's a pity- I love that thing and they're so expensive nowadays." Donna was just relieved that they could finally be getting out of this place to be really bothered. Alina stirred feebly, and for the first time, Donna noted that she was wearing an over-sized men's shirt, which fell to her mid-thigh. She still had the chain-less shackles clamped on her wrists and ankles, and blood dripped down her hands where they had chafed her skin. "Can't we get these off of her, Doctor?" She asked, seeing the pain they must have been causing the girl.

"Electro-magnetic loops.' He said grimly. "Drain energy, keep the prisoners weak. They won't come off unless a stronger pulse overrides the system."

"The screw-driver." Donna groaned.

"Yep. Which we haven't got. No matter, I've got things in the TARDIS that'll get them off." He said, flashing her a grim smile. Approaching footsteps cut Donna's reply short, and they both turn to each other.

"Only one door." He said, picking the girl up again. He glanced at Donna. "Run?" He grinned. She winked.

"Aye, cap' in." she said, saluting.

Together, they burst through the door, smashing through a surprised Albert the Cat and another furry feline Donna didn't know (most likely, she thought as she ran, called something equally ridiculous, like Bernie or Edgar.), they raced down the corridor, the cat's hisses following them as well as their 'pawsteps'.

_Which way? _Donna thought quickly, opening her mind and automatically linking it with the Doctor's.

_Right. _He answered immediately.

_How can you remember Doctor? _She demanded silently. _Or is it another guess? _

_They're always the best, _he cried, pounding down the corridor, still two steps ahead, even with the girl. Donna didn't have time to try and remember which way, as the turning was on her before she had the chance to. Suddenly, the Doctor ground to a halt, and she smacked into him.

"What the"- she began, as he turned and plopped Alina into her startled arms. Donna had enough time to briefly acknowledge the girl's lightness before he was off again.

"I've dropped my Chewits!" he announced fretfully, turning and sprinting back down the corridor, Donna following.

Albert the cat had the small, half-eaten Chewit packet held in her paw, and was looking at it dubiously.

"Ah! You found them!" The Doctor cried, leaping forward, snatching the packet and leaping away again. "Ta very much!" he shouted over his shoulder as he sprinted back down the corridor at the two stunned cats. "Come on, Donna. Shake a leg, girl." He whizzed past her, taking Alina from her without breaking his stride, laughing. Taken aback, she broke into a run and followed him again. She sighed as she ran.

She was beginning to forget what the words, "quiet life," meant.

"Hurry up!" Donna shouted, as the Doctor fumbled around in his pockets. He turned to glare at her.

"Hey, it's not my fault I've got pockets deeper than _me_, Donna." He retorted.

"Then whose fault is it then?" She asked, as he switched to another pocket, and yelled happily seconds later. "Gotcha." He said proudly, brandishing the key smugly.

"Good, 'cos Whiskers and co. have caught up with us." Donna said looking over her shoulder as the furry face of Albert turned the corner down the corridor, hissing. In seconds, the door was swinging closed behind them and he was running to the mushroom-shaped controls, managing to lower Alina gently to the floor without breaking his stride.

"Right, okaaay," The Doctor muttered quietly, looking at the controls. "Just need to press a few more"-

"Oi!" The communicator on the TARDIS monitor squeaked as something outsides yelled. The Doctor frowned.

"That wasn't very polite Albert." He scolded the cat sternly. "That tone won't make me let you in any more than a nice one." The speakers crackled as the cat hissed. Donna moved next to the Doctor. From the camera she had had no idea was there, she could see that the whole gang was outside, including a sonic screwdriver-wielding Cethy.

"Right, Donna, stay here"- he said, positioning her in front of the screen. "- and when I say so, press this button here." He pointed to a tiny unadorned button on the side. "Got that? Good. I'm going out to reason with them."

"Um, be careful then."

"Yeah, one day." He said, winking as he slipped through the door.


	10. Warning

"Um, be careful then

"_**Um, be careful then." **_

"_**Yeah, one day." He said, winking as he slipped through the door. **_

**CHAPTER TEN- Warning**

Despite having brushed off Donna's comment rather indifferently, the Doctor did intend to return in one piece- Albert and whoever the other Shal was would not be of concern, but the four Guardians Cethy had were more worrying- the Doctor had run into them before; which was how he'd lost one of his lives and come out of it with several fingers missing (luckily he'd been able to grow them again, so no harm done there.) The beaks- he knew from personal experience- looked blunter than they were, and the retractable talons could leave oneself in pieces in one lucky swipe. Their hoods had been lifted again, leaving only the tip of their beaks showing, and they remained, silent and forbidding, in the background. Cethy smiled and held up the screwdriver. "Looking for this?" he asked pleasantly.

"Yes, actually- mind if I have it back?" the Doctor replied, not very hopeful. "You have no _idea_ how much it'll cost to replace it." Cethy only laughed, instead chucking a large heavy volume at him. The Doctor caught it and read the title.

"Ah! Thanks. Didn't want to leave without Willie's parting gift." He nodded a thank you and dropped the book into his pocket, bowing slightly as hit the bottom several seconds later, the weight dragging him downwards.

"Yes, I'd gathered how much 'Willie's' gift meant to you." Cethy's eyebrows rose as the Doctor glared at him.

"Only his close friends were allowed to call him Willie," He snapped hotly. "Well, actually, only me 'cos he couldn't stop me, but anyway; don't call him that. He may be dead and everything but he was a great play writer so you'd better show him respect."

"Don't point at me, man." Cethy snapped, as the Doctor's accusing finger threatened to poke him on the nose. "Besides, I don't really care"-

The Doctor tutted irritably. "Well, _you_ wouldn't; probably don't have any idea who William Shakespeare even was."

"Well, no, actually." The Doctor stumbled and looked at Albert, shock on his face.

"Can you _believe_ that?" He half-shouted at her. "The greatest writer man…play-writer um, person, in history, and he doesn't have a clue who he is. Even Donna knows he is. Shame on you Cethy Amil." He accused, ignoring the yell from Donna inside at his insult to her intelligence.

"Face facts Donna- you're no Einstein!" He shouted, looking at the camera he couldn't see, but knew was there.

"What, and you are?" Came her reply.

"'Course I am- taught good old Albert everything he knew!" he turned back to Cethy. "Right, anyway. So, where were we?"

"I believe you were going to surrender you and vehicle." Cethy paused. "Though you can keep the annoying woman. Just leave her somewhere."

"Ah… right, you see, I'm not going to surrender my police box to you, Amil." The Doctor, stepping closer to the man. "Because after everything you've done- to her, to Donna- I've only got one word to say to you."

"Which is?"

"Yoink!" He yelled, snatching the screwdriver from Amil's slack fingers and leaping backwards. Keeping his eyes on the advancing Guardians, he shouted, "Right Donna, press the button!"

Donna heard the Doctor shout, and- teeth gritted- she pressed it, hard.

There was an ear-piercing scream from outside, and as one, the four cloaked birds crumpled to the ground, writhing. Black smoke was issuing from their robes in dark clouds, and they were soon engulfed in it, occasionally a flailing arm broke through, but soon even their screams quietened.

"Doctor? What did you do to them?" Donna asked as she stepped out of the TARDIS and walked over to where he was standing, looking down at the charred robes clinging lifelessly to a pile of bones, smoking quietly.

"The field surrounding the TARDIS is like a separate atmosphere, Donna," he explained softly, still watching the heap. "While I was talking, the TARDIS was converting it- it changed the air slightly- nothing drastic enough to affect us, but the Guardians are sensitive to subtle changes, and the alterations were enough for me to, um"-

"Reduce them to ash?" Donna asked.

"Yes. When you pressed that button, it sent out a kind of energy atom, which gathered around the Guardians and ignited- turning the Guardians to ash. But they're not dead, don't worry."

"They look pretty dead to me," Donna said dubiously, looking at the smoking pile. She started as it shifted slightly, and a tiny head poked out from under the ashes, dark grey feather's crowning its head and two shiny black eyes that were too large for its skull. A small steel-coloured beak opened and a soft cry escaped. The Doctor grinned at her.

"I thinks he's hungry." He said, looking kindly at the tiny grey bird, whose was straining upwards at them. He bent and picked it up- the thing only barely fitting snugly in his arms- and moved it closer to Donna. "Look familiar?" he asked.

"Is that…"

"Yep. Told you I didn't kill them. When the protons activated, it stimulated the body's enzymes into reversal, all the way back to birth. Cute, isn't he?" He grinned, stroking the back of the chick's head softly, making it emit a kind of strangled purr of contentment.

"Don't think you're keeping it, Doctor," Donna warned, eyeing the chick warily. It chirped and nibbled the Doctor's finger. It was hard, looking at the chick lying in the Doctor's arms, to picture the thing when it was full grown; cold and forbidding. He looked at her and nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I know- young Guardians are difficult to look after anyway." He sighed and looked genuinely saddened at the thought of not being able to keep it. Donna rolled her eyes; the man got worse every day.

"Right," he said, putting the chick down- it gave a small whimper at the abandonment- and straightened, turning to Cethy, who been watching, frozen, still staring at where his guards had once been. He shook his head and glared at the Doctor, who glared back.

"You'll die for this, Doctor." Cethy, producing a gun from one of his many pockets and pointing it at him. The Doctor wordlessly wrenched the thing from the man's grasp, flicked on the safety and emptied the bullets onto his palm and tossing them over his shoulder before handing the weapon back to him.

"If there's one thing you should have guessed by now, Amil," He said sharply, his voice dark. "Is that I am not someone for you to mess with, and sticking a gun in my face is the worst way to do it." He leaned forward. "I'd stop trying to kill me, if I were you, and instead concentrate on walking away from this right now, otherwise I'll have to make you."

"Never." Cethy snarled, and gestured at Albert, who snarled and jumped at the Doctor, her teeth bared.

He turned and pointed the screwdriver that was still in his hand at the wall behind him, which slid open to reveal an empty life shaft. He stepped out of the way, and Albert fell through the opening, her mouth open in an echoing growl. Her cries receded as she continued to fall down the shaft, ending with a loud crash as she slammed into the lift cab, several floors below. The silence echoed as the Doctor stared at Cethy, daring him to move forward. The second cat-person was nowhere to be seen, Donna figured she (or he) must have fled.

"Right," She said to break the silence. "Shall we be off then?" The Doctor turned to her and nodded.

"Just one more thing," he said, pointing at the four squirming forms on the floor. "Grab a bird and let's go. We're taking them back to where they came from." The Doctor kept his eyes on Cethy whilst Donna picked the Guardians up, one by one.

Donna was huffing away in the TARDIS, but the men outside of it said nothing, only looked at each other.

"I shall find what I want, Doctor." Cethy said finally, breaking the cold silence. "Whether you or another Timelord out there gives it to me."

"There's no-one else, Amil." The Doctor said; his voice flat. "we're the last ones left. Stop dreaming about knowing everything, get off this research shuttle and go out there, back to whatever planet you came from and start _living_."

"I can't. "Cethy snapped back, his voice bitter. "You are not the only on to lose your planet, Timelord." The Doctor's gaze softened in understanding.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "Where?"

"Sky Seven." Cethy looked away and closed his eyes, for once not looking like an insane, evil man who collected rare and beautiful species to kill and stuff and display in boxes.

"The Inhl Sickness." The Doctor nodded. "Wiped out half of the galaxy. I was there. A different man but still the same- I helped as much as I could, but the strand was too modernised, too intelligent. Only by destroying the infected planets could the disease be stopped." Cethy nodded bitterly and turned back to him, his eyes blank.

"But that is not what you remained here for is it, Doctor?" he asked.

"No." He admitted. "I've come to tell you to stop, Cethy. Let us leave. Don't follow us, don't try to stop us- find another planet then, to live on. Stop nursing this unhealthy obsession to own ever species in the universe that strikes your fancy. Stop it now, or you will regret it." His voice didn't waver- it held every ounce of the grim certainty Cethy could see on the man's face.

The Guardians- or whatever the Doctor had called them- were about the size of a large cat, and shrieked shrillingly when you picked them up. "Okay," she huffed, struggling to keep the wriggling bird in her grasp. "Where d'you want the last one?"

"Just stick him with the others," the Doctor said, as he shone the sonic's light into Alina's eyes. She nodded at his back and lowered the bird in to space under the lifted grate in the floor gently, dropping it in the last half-foot. Straightening, she lowered the grate and turned to where the Doctor was picking Alina up.

"Okaaay," he murmured. "Can you just hold her up, please Donna?" I need her upright and facing the TARDIS console."

"Um, sure. Why?" She asked, trying the limp girl from him and again feeling surprised at the girl's lightness.

"Because I'm going to try and motivate her consciousness into repairing itself- by looking into the Time Vortex, the TARDIS strength'll flow into her, giving her the necessary energy to begin the process." He looked up and took a deep breath.

"You don't if it'll work, do you?"

"No," He admitted. "But it's only chance- I have to try." He came over and position her in front of the TARDIS panel. "Okay, stay there and just hold her there, but _don't _look into the light when I open the barrier."

"Why, what happens if I do?"

"Long story- you'll end up looking into the time vortex and you will absorb the excess running energies. Your human mind can't cope, I'll have to absorb it from you, which'll mean I'll end up dying, making me have to regenerate, which I don't want- look, never mind. Just don't look into it. Keep your eyes closed." He said, turning back to the console. "Ready?" Donna nodded and closed her eyes tightly.

Heat rushed over her, light brighter than she could have imagined seared her eyelids, as dazzling as if she had had them open, and was staring straight into it. She felt the girl's body tense in her arms and jerk so violently she almost lost her grip on it. Her back arched against Donna's chest, the manacles that had been digging into her stomach crumbling to dust under the heat, and a deep sigh resonated through her body.

The light ceased as suddenly as it had come, and Donna cautiously opened her eyes. She been kneeling on the floor without even realising her knees had buckled, her arms loosely clasping the girl's shoulders. Her vision was blurring after the blinding light, and she only vaguely saw the blue blob that must have been the Doctor rush over; she surrendered the girl to him and wearily massaged her eyes, and when they re-opened, her eyesight was slightly better. She turned back to the Doctor, who was still holding Alina. Dread washed over her as she looked at the limp figure. It hadn't worked…

But then, with a deep sigh, she opened her eyes, locking onto the Doctor's immediately. Recognition sprang into her eyes instantly. The two of them looked at each other wordlessly, Alina's face a mass of puzzlement and disbelief as she stared into the face of the brother she's lost.

"Doctor…" she breathed.

**A/N: She's awake! Ah… how will she react, what will they all say? Not quite sure yet, but I'm sure it'll come to me. Anything worth reviewing??**


	11. Destruction

But then, with a deep sigh, she opened her eyes, locking onto the Doctor's immediately

_**But then, with a deep sigh, she opened her eyes, locking onto the Doctor's immediately. Recognition sprang into her eyes instantly. **_

"_**Doctor…" she breathed. **_

**CHAPTER ELEVEN- Reunion**

Cethy Amil was feeling rather pleased with himself.

Not only had the Doctor managed to relieve him of several servants he would have had trouble disposing of in the near future anyway, he'd also made the fatal mistake of leaving Cethy alive.

And the controls in Amil's office intact.

These controls, used by such a man as Cethy, were capable of tracking and destroying any object he could name. And he had the TARDIS's flight code, which was all he needed to scatter it into a thousand million tiny pieces across space with one flick of a button. He sneered as he recalled the Doctor's farewell;

"I've warned you Cethy, just turn and leave- come after me and you will regret it." Well, the Doctor couldn't reach him here, and he could travel as far away as he liked, Cethy could still reduce him and his precious machine to dust, safe in his office.

He calmly stepped over the wretched Grasht's body, ignoring it completely and moved over to the controls. Yes, he though, resting his hands lightly on the many buttons and levers. He could do whatever he liked to the Doctor; he would never be able to stop him.

A sudden, sharp pain bit into his hands, followed by and intense lethargy sweeping over him, and he looked down at his fingers, his heart stopping as he saw the small silver chain coiled around his wrist, lengthening with every second it drained his body. Desperately, he looked around for something to get it off with, and his eyes fell momentarily on the girl's body sprawled on the floor. The chains that had killed her were gone, angry red welts in theirs place. He turned back to the controls, his eyes darting to the piece of paper lying on it. He hurried over and picked it up, as if by some miracle it could save him. There were only four words in the centre of the page, written in elegantly slanting script.

_I warned you, Amil._

Gasping as his strength waned; Cethy stumbled to the glass shards still lying on the floor from when the bloody woman had thrown the decanter. He grasped a splinter and hacked wildly at the silver that had now snaked up his arm and was softly flowing around his neck. The chains wouldn't break, and his arm was soon covered in deep slices. Amil didn't feel the pain as panic set in as he felt the silver constrict around his neck, strangling him. As darkness began to gather at the corners of his vision, his eyes rested on the paper once more, the words the Doctor had written as he had laid the trap he had always known Cethy would fall into.

The answer was yes, Cethy though hazily, as the blackness blotted out his entire vision and the last of his strength failed him. The Doctor could stop him, wherever he was. His face was the last Amil saw before sinking into the blackness so eager to claim him.

Alina smiled up at him, her yes full of tears. She touched his face softly, as if she didn't trust her eyes. "It's you." She whispered, her eyes over-flowing.

"It's me," The Doctor smiled and wiped her tears away, kissing her forehead gently. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, and Donna felt his barriers slip again, his happiness making her breath catch. She looked away as the girl laid her head on the Doctor's shoulder and sighed, her arms still round his neck. Her eye snapped open as she heard Donna moved, and she pulled away from him slightly too look at her. The Doctor felt her move and look around, meeting Donna's eyes. He smiled and stood up, pulling Alina with him.

"This is my friend, Donna," He said, and she returned the girl smile warmly. "Donna, this is my sister."

"Hello." She said her voice soft and musical, like wind chimes. She glanced at the Doctor and beamed at him. "So, you travel with him then?" Alina asked, turning back Donna.

"Yeah- I'm beginning to forget what my old life was like." Donna grinned, their happiness infectious. She frowned and added, "Do you want me to find you something?" She nodded at the old shirt the girl was wearing, and Alina frowned in puzzlement as if she'd only just realised she was wearing it. She looked around at the TARDIS's walls, bemused.

"What happened?" she asked, turning back to the Doctor. "I don't remember a thing."

"What's the last thing you remember?" He asked, his anger at Cethy heightening.

"This girl- but she wasn't, she was… a Grasht. But some sort of human-Grasht combination…" she rattled off several more scientific-y sounding words that to Donna could have been another language for all the understanding it brought her, and she groaned. The others turned to look at her.

"She's another you!" She groaned again, and the Doctor laughed.

"She's got my sense of humour too." He grinned, nudging the girl next to him as Donna covered her face.

"That's it. I'm dying- it is all over!" She wailed dramatically, then smiled and straightened. "Right, clothes. I'm sure the Doctor's got something."

"Come one then," Alina said, shooting past Donna and opening the gold door that led to the rest of the TARDIS. "I'll show you to the wardrobe room and you can help. You stay here," She said, pointing at the Doctor, who shrugged and turned to the controls. Alina smiled and took Donna's hand, leading her down the corridor.

"Weelll," Alina said, pausing to examine herself in the mirror. Donna smiled; she sounded exactly like the Doctor, only slightly feminine, when she drew words out like that. "If we're being technical, I'm eight hundred and eighty… nine." She finished, nodding. "Only fifteen years between us, me and the Doctor." Donna snorted.

"S'pose when you're a Timelord, fifteen years is nothing."

"Oh god no," Alina nodded. "It's like… well, if I were the age I looked- eighteen? - then that would make a year for me… very small." She concluded, twisting around to see the back of the black top she was wearing. She frowned and poked the bruise on her shoulder. "It's bizarre having bruises and stuff and not being able to remember how you got them." Donna nodded silently, leafing through another rack of clothes; she pulled out a ballerina costume and grinned. "I think your brother's got a hidden talent."

"Ah, well. If he can do ballet as well as he can Firedance I pity the fool who tried to teach him." Alina said, running a hand over the pink silk.

"Firedance?" Donna repeated, frowning.

Alina smiled and sprang to her feet. "A form of dancing we had on Gallifry, before the war." She looked sad as she spoke, but it quickly disappeared and she smiled. "Want to see?"

"Go on then." Donna said, stepping back. "Just don't collapse or anything."

"Give me credit; I'm passed the shakiness." Alina replied and flexed her fingers experimentally. She smiled satisfied as green-blue flames started to spread over her hands and twisting their way around her arms.

"It's alright," she assured, seeing Donna's startled look. "It's not real fire. It doesn't hurt." Donna nodded, remembering the memory she'd seen in the Doctor's mind, of a slightly younger Alina dancing the way she seemed about to do.

And the girl started dancing.

It was like nothing Donna had ever seen humans do; she couldn't describe the complex movements Alina did, but it was beautiful, like the sound of Alina's mind-call put into movements. The green-blue fire twisted with her, constantly separating and melding into different strands of the flames; one long tendril of flames snaked from her shoulders around her back and down her waist, twisting the other side of her body to twirl down one leg to her ankle, whilst countless other tongues of flickering green and blue dancing over her arms, her stomach and the shoulder and leg not covered by the main tendril. It never died or faded, only seemed to brighten as she kept moving, the flames hugging her body and moving with her. Alina's eyes were closed, and she seemed to not think about the complex turns or twirls, and allowed her feet to find their own path, taking her body with it.

Someone tutted behind her, and Donna turned to look. The Doctor was leaning in the doorway, watching Alina dance.

"I thought you were supposed to be taking it easy." He accused, and she opened her eyes, the fire crackling into oblivion around her, dissipating into sparks that flickered and died. "And then you go showing off to Donna." She smiled sweetly.

"Yes well, I'm fine." She paused. "Are those Chewits?" She asked pointing to the packet in his pocket.

"Yep," He answered, holding out the packet. She snatched it out f his hands and pocketed it in one swift motion. He looked wounded and turned to Donna. "Make her give me my sweets back." He said; a shadow of a moan in his voice.

Donna tutted. "You sound like your four, not nine hundred and four." He looked offended for a second, but he couldn't keep it and his face spread into a smile. "Anyway, I was just coming to check that Donna had killed you and was trying to dispose of your body somewhere. Want anything, while I'm here?" He asked, avoiding Donna's playful swing at him easily. Alina considered and nodded. "Yeah, I'm starving- haven't eaten since heaven knows when." The Doctor nodded, turning for the door. "Food it is then." He said over his shoulder, disappearing round the door. Donna turned to see Alina shaking her head, smiling.

"He's so different- but at the same time, exactly what he was like before he regenerated. How many times has he, by the way?" She asked. Donna shrugged. "Ten, I think." The girl nodded.

"It's odd how similar he looks since I last saw him- even though he's got a different body, his hair and his eyes are the same." She said conversationally. "I always loved the hair when I was younger- all messy and spiky, but it wasn't as if he never brushed it or anything." She paused and looked down. "He reminds me so much of my mother, you know." She said finally, catching a strand of her black hair and twirling it through her fingers. She caught Donna's face and smiled. "He looks a lot like her actually. Apart from his nose- dad's nose." She sighed. Donna didn't know what to say, so she held up the dress she was holding.

"How 'bout this one?" She asked. Alina wrinkled her nose critically.

"Pink's never been my colour." She began, and then stopped. "But I do like that." She said, pointing to a long chocolate brown coat hanging on a delicate gold wire spiralling from the ceiling. "Very nice," Stroking the fabric appreciatively, she turned to Donna. "Found my coat. Now let's get out here- the endless clothes are giving me a headache."

Whilst Alina was off trying to relocate her room that she had occupied several centuries earlier, Donna joined the Doctor in the main console room.

"Find anything?" He asked without looking up.

"Oh yeah- what was the deal with the metres-long scarf in the cupboard, by the way** (A/N: the Tom Baker Doctor!)**?" Donna asked as she sat down. "Almost gave me a heart attack when I opened the doors and it fell out."

"Oh, I didn't realise I still had that- wore during my…um- oh, one of my previous bodies. I had great hair back then too; all curly and wild." He said, waving his arms with the actions.

"I can't believe you actually wore that." Donna sniggered, almost falling off of her chair. The Doctor looked offended.

"'Course I did- it was a great conversation piece. Although, it did almost throttle me several times." He frowned. "Looking back, it probably wasn't a good idea- the number of times I fell flat on my face running away from people wearing that thing." Donna sniggered again, and then sobered up slightly.

"What?" He asked when he caught her looking at him.

"You're happy, aren't you?" It was a needless question; she could feel his elation in the back of her mind, like a half-ignored whisper. He sighed.

"Yes, I am- very much so."

"Then what's with the sigh?"

"Because I don't trust it- nothing's ever this easy. Something's going to get in the way- I can feel it. The only question is when."


	12. Loose Ends

"_**You're happy, aren't you?" It was a needless question; she could feel his elation in the back of her mind, like a half-ignored whisper. He sighed. **_

"_**Yes, I am- very much so." **_

"_**Then what's with the sigh?"**_

"_**Because I don't trust it- nothing's ever this easy. Something's going to get in the way- I can feel it. The only question is when." **_

**CHAPTER TWELVE: **

Donna didn't know how to answer that, and was saved from having to by the Doctor snorted in the loudest and most undignified fashion. He shook his head. "Listen to me- talk about being Gloomy McGloom Gloom. " He chuckled quietly to himself. "Ah, gloom." He frowned and looked at Donna. "Did I really just say Gloomy McGloom- gloom?"

"Um, yes." She managed, trying to keep a straight face. He shook his head and turned away, and the reality of the conversation caught up with her.

Donna looked at the Doctor as he twitched and fiddled with TARDIS controls and felt a surge of pity; she herself had seen him find and lose people so easily, getting himself hurt every time. Now it'd happened to him so many times, he couldn't trust what he had to stay that way. He was convinced something was going to happen, but she wasn't. Maybe this time, it'd be alright; maybe Alina was the one that would manage to make him happy by staying with him. And maybe she wouldn't end up stuck in a parallel world, or getting shot or having to sacrifice herself to save everybody; maybe, this time, he'd get to keep one of the people he loved, like he deserved to. She sighed; so many maybes- Donna couldn't get around the fact that she didn't have solid certainty, no matter how much she tried to.

A strangled warble broke through her thoughts, bringing her back to the present with a snap.

"What's the plan with these bird-things then, Doctor?" She asked, as another shriek joined the first.

"They're called Guardians; literally born to protect. The planet they come from- well, it's really a realm, rather than a planet- it created them to protect it from invaders. And we're going to take them back to it, hopefully avoiding getting torn apart by the various defences on the way."

"Yeah, _hopefully_ that won't happen." Donna muttered, too quiet for him to hear. But, she thought, with his exceptional hearing, he probably did. "So… have you worked out in that super-mind of yours how come I kept doing impossible things before yet?"

"Weelll," He stalled, running a hand through his hair. "I sort of have a theory, well, it more of a pondering… - ah! Of course, the Grasht!" he yelled, smacking his forehead. "She was a human-Grasht hybrid; Grasht with a human brain. When she extracted Alina's mind, she accidentally fed some of _her_ matter into her; leaving traces of human sub-consciousness in the remaining part of Alina's mind. The fragments altered her mental call enough that it was susceptible to human's as well as Timelords."

"But that doesn't explain how I could hear it anyway- you said human frequencies were too low"-

"Donna Noble," The Doctor interrupted, looking impressed. "You actually listened to what I said! Ha, there's hope for you yet"-

"Doctor! Focus!" She screeched and he jumped.

"Right yes- well, the call was lined with traces of human consciousness…. Ah! The paradoxical phenomenon we crossed! Like I said, they're large stores of unusable energy- and if you pass near one, it leaves traces of the organic energy on you, which in turn slightly rewrites your DNA pattern"-

"You _what_?"

"- don't worry, you're still human- just don't go for a medical check-up for at least another four months; unless you want to shock the doctor into space. Right, anyway, rewriting DNA is quite a complex thing to do- for a person, anyway- and it leaves your mind open for a while, which means…"

"I was able to hear mental calls from _anything_." Donna felt faint as she remembered back in the TARDIS, when she could hear not only hers and the Doctor thoughts, but countless others too…

"Yep, but the phenomenon's also act as shields against mind-calls, only allowing certain ones through- Timelords, for one- everything else rebounds off of it. Which is good, because if you'd begun picking up everything in your path's mental call, your mind would have imploded under the strain."

_It came close._ Donna thought shakily, but said nothing. The Doctor frowned.

"But that doesn't explain how our minds have somehow linked."

"I can answer that one," Came Alina's silky voice as she stepped through the door. The Doctor looked at her questioningly. "She understands you." She said simply. Donna caught the Doctor's eye and realised it meant nothing to him either. Alina noticed and continued.

"Donna's connection to you was strengthened by her ability to empathize with you, Doctor," she said quietly. "She understands how it must feel to be the very last of your race- to feel so alone, isolated from everyone around you by your differences. You have so many human friends Doctor, but you can't connect with them as well as me or Donna, because they can't ever feel the way you do. They don't have the ability to _be _you."

He nodded slowly, looking at Donna intently. "Actually that makes sense." He said, meeting her eyes.

"But I can't _be _him either," Donna argued. "I'm a human- I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to be an alien who is centuries old…" She trailed off, because really, she realised, she could; she'd seen the Doctor's memories, the feelings of weariness. He'd lived through a lot, but he was no different from being her age, not really. Back in her world, her old life, she hadn't fitted in there either- no-one was on exactly the same page as her, she never connected with anyone except the Doctor in such a way… With a rush, she saw his thoughts again; she saw her own face in his memory, only seconds old. Then her consciousness snapped back abruptly to her like a piece of elastic. She blinked and looked at the two Timelords in front of her, both of them smiling.

"See?" Alina said, just as the Doctor murmured, "Remarkable." He straightened and winked at her. "Told you that you weren't the average Joe, didn't I, Noble? Only take the best, me."

*

"Riiiight," The Doctor said, twitching a few levers whilst Alina monitored the scanners and Donna stood about trying to look as if she knew what the two of them were doing. "Here we are." The TARDIS lurched slightly to the left and whirred, ground to a sudden stop. "Any signs of trouble?" He asked and Alina studied the scanners again.

"Nope, not-a one." She answered, grabbing her coat from the dip in one of the coral-shaped beams and shrugging into it. "Let's go." She announced, striding to the hatch full of flailing Guardian chicks. Lifting the mesh cover, she quickly scooped one out.

"Hello little sweetie," She chirped, tickling the Guardian under its chin affectionately. "Aren't you lovely?"

"Oh, not you as well." Donna moaned, picking up her own squirming ball of feathers. "What is it with you two and loving creatures that'll grow up into horrible monsters that will try and eat you?"

"No, not of all of them-Guardians are actually rather gentle creatures- look at this little fella." The Doctor argued, pointing to the chick that was perched conveniently on his shoulders, warbling happily. "'Tis only people like Cethy Amil who make them into monsters. Lovely little things really."

Donna snorted and followed Alina to the TARDIS door, still struggling to not drop the squeaking bundle in her arms. "Stop fidgeting dammit." She hissed, ignoring the Doctor's chuckle behind her. She followed Alina through the TARDIS door and out onto twilit cliff, a black forest of silver birches in front of her. Two moons burned brightly above her head, and she could see the edge of a third concealed by the silver-washed leaves of the forest that circle them and the TARDIS. Behind her, the soft sound of crashing waves twirled up to meet her from far below.

"This is lovely. Dark, but nice." Donna said, her words echoing, carried along by the faint breeze.

"Look behind you." Alina said, nodding. Donna turned to see the sea- its gentle waves a rich dark purple- stretching further than she could see in ever direction, miles below from where she was standing, on the very edge of a pale cliff. She shook her head and put the bird on the floor by her feet, turning back to the others.

"This is the Laal peninsula." The Doctor told her. 'The most northern point in the whole of Shade's Realm." Donna's eyebrows rose at the name, but she said nothing.

"Okaaay, shall we get on then?" Alina broke in, gesturing at the Guardian chicks. The Doctor nodded and whistled roughly twice, the shrill sound grating on Donna's ears. At once, two shadows detached themselves from the impenetrable darkness of the forest and swooped over to them, more smoke-like than a real creature. They stopped several metres short of the trio and lost their insubstantial quality, their feet touching the ground. Their hoods dropped to reveal their adult guardian features. Alina uttered a low clicking rasp, and as one, the two Guardian's cold black eyes zeroed in on her. She repeated the noise several times, gesturing for the Doctor to put down the two chicks he was holding. The chicks scrabbled forward, towards the adults, their movements scrutinised intently by the seniors. As they neared, the adult's talons half-unsheathed in warning, and as Donna watched their cold pitiless eye, she felt a sudden certainty that the Doctor and Alina were, wrong; that the fledglings would be torn apart by these forbidding alien creatures.

But instead the largest of the two adults leaned forward and pressed its huge steel beak to the infant's forehead, the coldness replaced by that of maternal affection. Suddenly, the Guardians seemed a lot less fearsome, and now it looked like a mother seeing its offspring for the first time.

"Told you," the Doctor said softly. "Only monsters when they're forced to be. One of the gentlest races in this galaxy."

Donna smiled. Alina reached over and took her hand- it surprised Donna that she didn't feel uncomfortable, despite only knowing the girl for several hours- and took the Doctor's in her other.

"Come on, then" she said turning back to the TARDIS. They followed her, and as Donna drew near to the doors, the four chicks behind her gave a short warbling shriek of farewell, and Donna smiled.

"Goodbye." She whispered and closed the door.

"Riiiight," the Doctor said from the controls. "Where to?"

"Somewhere hot where we can relax." Donna provided, making Alina smile next to her.

"There's that beauty spa shuttle-thing orbiting this very lovely planet in the next galaxy- wanna go?" she asked, her eyes bright with excitement. The Doctor groaned.

"Any more of this and I may as well just be a girl." He moaned. "And don't you say anything about me already being one!" he warning, pointing sternly at Donna.

"Wouldn't dream of it," She grinned, turning back to Alina. "Let's go." The girl smiled and pushed the lever next to her. The TARDIS lurched, spinning madly through time and space; the blue box twirling through the Time Vortex, heading to its next destination.

**____**

**A/N: ****Right people, that was the last chapter of her I'm afraid- I know, I'm crying too!- but never fear, because I am right now writing the sequel; I'm up to chapter six, whoo! And I have a secret inclination that that one will be slightly longer than this one... bewarned! Thanks so much to all who reviewed- you know who you are and I am eternally grateful!**

**Also, I shan't be posting any chapters of the sequel until at least February, but will be posting a different story- called 'Seven Days' (Rose)- in the meantime, once 'Her' as been posted. So, read that one if you want to… **

**Bye for now!**


End file.
